Japan-Viet Nam Relations

(1) Opening Remarks

1. Deputy Prime Minister Minh stated that he was pleased to convene the Japan-Viet Nam Cooperation Committee for the first time with Minister Kono, and that his visit to Viet Nam on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations was deeply significant for further promoting the bilateral relationship. Deputy Prime Minister Minh stated, through the meeting, he looked forward to following up on the progress of the cooperation under way in a variety of fields and materializing the agreements reached between their leaders.   
2. Minister Kono thanked Deputy Prime Minister Minh and other members on the Vietnamese side for their preparations for the meeting. Minister Kono, through the meeting, looked forward to following up on the achievements of President Quang's State Visit to Japan and confirming the status of the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation in order to further deepen their "Extensive Strategic Partnership."
3. Deputy Prime Minister Minh expressed words of sympathy over the damages caused by the recent Typhoon Jebi (Typhoon No. 21) and the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake, and Minister Kono expressed his appreciation.   

(2) Economic Cooperation

1. Minister Kono stated that the sustainable growth of Viet Nam is important for the peace, stability, and prosperity of the region and that Japanese companies continue to have strong interest in Viet Nam. Minister Kono noted that the Government of Japan would support Vietnamese efforts in such areas as improving the investment environment, converting the growth model, and administrative reforms, and would extend cooperation for the development of quality infrastructure for Long Thanh Airport, high-speed railway, expressways, energy development, fire fighting, postal service, information communications, waste disposal, among other fields. With regard to human resources development, Minister Kono expressed expectations towards cooperation through the Japan-Viet Nam University and Japanese-style "KOSEN"(institute for engineering/technology) as well as towards the development of senior party personnel and medical personnel under the Asia Health and Wellbeing Initiative (AHWIN).      
2. Deputy Prime Minister Minh stated that Japan's cooperation through official development assistance (ODA) and their bilateral investment and trade relations have contributed significantly to the socioeconomic development of Viet Nam. The Deputy Prime Minister stated that Viet Nam's current goals were mainly increasing productivity and converting the growth model and expressed expectations towards Japan's continued supports primarily in such areas as infrastructure, human resources development, administrative reform, and climate change measures.    
3. Both sides confirmed their intent to promote free trade through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

(3) People-to-People Exchanges

1. Both sides welcomed and expressed expectations towards expanding people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. They shared the understanding that it was important to take measures against malicious brokers for Vietnamese students and technical interns studying in Japan and confirmed that the two sides would continue to work closely together.
2. Minister Kono stated that Japan will continue its efforts to strengthen the friendly relations between their peoples through cultural and sports exchanges, and that to expand people-to-people exchanges, Japan will promote cooperation for Japanese language education through such programs as the training program for Japanese language teachers which is scheduled to commence this fiscal year. Deputy Prime Minister Minh expressed his expectations for promoting tourism exchanges.

(1) Minister Kono stated that Japan and Viet Nam are important partners that will ensure peace and stability in the region, and that Japan hopes to further enhance their collaboration for the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Deputy Prime Minister Minh expressed his wish to deepen their collaboration in the regional and international arena for the peace and stability of the region and the world.    

(2) The ministers shared the intention to promote cooperation for the development of the whole Mekong region. Minister Kono wished to further deepen Japan-Mekong cooperation and expressed hope that Viet Nam fulfills a proactive role in consolidating the cooperation framework among Mekong countries. Deputy Prime Minister Minh expressed his high expectations for Japan-Mekong cooperation.  

(3) The ministers also exchanged views regarding regional and international affairs, including the South China Sea issue and North Korea issue.

[Reference] Japan-Viet Nam Cooperation Committee
The Japan-Viet Nam Cooperation Committee was established by an agreement between the leaders in November 2006 as a forum to discuss the direction of the overall mutually beneficial cooperative relations between the two countries. The Committee, as a rule, holds a regular meeting once a year, alternating between Japan and Viet Nam. Co-chaired by the foreign ministers of both countries, discussions are held on a wide range of areas, including the economy, economic cooperation, people and cultural exchanges, agriculture, and energy, and are attended by senior officials of the relevant ministries and agencies.  

1st meeting: May 2007, Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Khiem (Venue: Tokyo)
2nd meeting: July 2008, Minister for Foreign Affairs Komura and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Khiem (Venue: Hanoi)
3rd meeting: January 2010, Minister for Foreign Affairs Okada and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Khiem (Venue: Tokyo)
4th meeting: July 2012, Minister for Foreign Affairs Gemba and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minh (Venue: Hanoi)
5th meeting: September 2013, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minh (Venue: Tokyo)
6th meeting: August 2014, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minh (Venue: Hanoi)
7th meeting: July 2015, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minh (Venue: Tokyo)
8th meeting: May 2016, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minh (Venue: Hanoi)
9th meeting: May 2017, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minh (Venue: Tokyo)