Japan-Viet Nam Relations
Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Ishiba and Luong Cuong, President of Viet Nam, as well as Tran Thanh Man, President of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
April 28, 2025
On April 28, 2025, from 11:20 local time (JST 13:20 p.m.), during his visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held a 45-minute meeting with H.E. Mr. Luong Cuong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at the Presidential Palace. Afterward, from 14:20 local time (JST 16:20 p.m.), he held a 40-minute meeting with H.E. Mr. Tran Thanh Man, the National Assembly Chairman of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the National Assembly building. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. Meeting with President Luong Cuong
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
- At the outset, President Cuong expressed his pleasure at being able to meet again since their previous meeting in Peru last November. On behalf of the Vietnamese government and people, he welcomed Prime Minister Ishiba's visit to Viet Nam, stating that Japan is one of the most important partners for Viet Nam, and expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation based on the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” between the two countries. In response, Prime Minister Ishiba expressed his pleasure at being able to meet with President Cuong again. He emphasized that Japan and Vietnam are committed to maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law and a multilateral trading system. He also stated his intention to further develop n bilateral relations based on their “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
- President Cuong expressed his pleasure at the progress of cooperation in the security field between the two countries, including defense exchanges and human resource development, and stated that he would like to continue promoting cooperation with Japan.
In response, Prime Minister Ishiba stated that, given the current international situation, security cooperation between the two countries has become increasingly important, and he expressed his desire to strengthen defense cooperation, including the establishment of Foreign and Defense Vice-Ministerial Consultations (2+2) and cooperation in transfer of defense equipment and technology. - In addition, Prime Minister Ishiba stated that as an irreplaceable partner for Vietnam, Japan would like to support the modernization of Vietnam’s industry through cooperation in new fields such as semiconductors and Green Transformation (GX). He also requested cooperation to address issues faced by Japanese companies. In response, President Cuong expressed gratitude for Japan’s contributions to Vietnam’s social and economic development and expressed his intention to further promote cooperation with Japan in the economic field. Both sides held extensive discussions on the economic sector, taking into account the impact of U.S. tariff measures and China's retaliatory actions on the global economy and the multilateral trading system.
- Both sides exchanged views on regional situations and addressing important global issues, including situation in the East China sea and South China Sea, North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities, the abductions issue, the situation in Myanmar, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
2. Meeting with Tran Thanh Man, President of the National Assembly
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
- At the outset, President Man expressed his heartfelt welcome for Prime Minister Ishiba’s visit to Viet Nam, and stated that he would like to develop cooperation under the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” between the two countries. He also stated that the visit to Japan in December of last year was a significant opportunity to advance parliamentary exchanges and strengthen economic ties.
In response, Prime Minister Ishiba expressed his pleasure to meet with Man, President of the National Assembly again since their meeting in Japan last December, and stated that President n Man’s visit to Japan had greatly contributed to strengthening bilateral relations. He also emphasized the desire to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various fields. - Prime Minister Ishiba expressed his intention to enhance cooperation in the field of disaster prevention, where Japan has particular strengths. He also requested cooperation to address issues faced by Japanese companies. In response, President Man expressed gratitude for Japan’s support to Vietnam and emphasized that Vietnam would like to continue to work on improving the investment and economic cooperation environment as well as to strengthen cooperations such as agriculture and human resources development. Both sides agreed to further enhance people-to-people exchanges, which form the foundation of Japan-Vietnam relations, as well as exchanges between parties and parliaments by leveraging opportunities such as the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
- Both sides exchanged views on regional situations, and confirmed that they would cooperate on addressing important global issues, including the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues, the abductions issue, the situation in Myanmar, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.