Hanoi (VNA)♔ – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hailed the ongoing visit by Governor of Japan’sGunma prefecture YamamotoIchita on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Japandiplomatic ties this year as an important milestone during a reception in Hanoi on October 27.

Bothsides shared the view that the bilateral extensive strategic partnership is in a strong andcomprehensive development phase with high political trust. Japan is now thetop economic partner, the biggest supplier of official development assistance(ODA), the second largest partner in labour, the third biggest partner in investmentand tourism, and the fourth biggest in trade of Vietnam. Around 100 relationships between Vietnamese and Japanese localities have beenestablished. At present, there are about 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan,making them the second largest foreign community in the country and makingpractical contributions to its socio-economic development. Since early this year, both sides have arranged mutual visits and held celebration activities, contributing to deepening the friendshipand mutual understanding between their people. PM Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government attachesgreat importance to enhancing cooperation, considering it a substantial and effective channel to strengthen collaborationin investment, trade, labour and people-to-people exchange. He hailed the Governor’s determination, efforts andinitiatives to boost ties with Vietnam, including holding traditionalVietnamese Lunar New Year celebrations, the Vietnam festivals in Gunma, symphonyorchestra exchanges, implementing memoranda of understanding on cooperationwith Vietnamese agencies and various policies in support of around 12,000Vietnamese living in the prefecture, and encouraging local enterprises toexpand their operations in Vietnam. The host suggested that in the coming time, the Gunma authoritiesand the Governor continue stepping up the exchange of delegations, cultural andpeople-to-people exchanges, and tourism cooperation with Vietnam. This includesholding commemorative events and festivals both in the prefecture and inVietnam, pushing forward local investments in Vietnam, especially in areas oftheir strength such as digital transformation, energy transition, high-techagriculture, manufacturing and processing, and support industries. The Vietnamese Government is ready to create favourableconditions for cooperation between Gunma and Vietnamese localities, he said,adding that Vietnam will continue improving the business environment by making itmore stable, transparent and healthy; reforming administrative procedures, fine-tuningmechanisms and policies, and improving strategic infrastructure. Ichita, for his part, said via the visit, he wished tofurther promote economic ties and human resources training cooperation with Vietnam. He added that he is accompanied by a delegation of 29businesses which expressed their appreciation for Vietnam's businessenvironment. They plan to invest a total of 7.7 billion JPY (51.3 million USD) inVietnam in the near future. In the years to come, there will be continued efforts toencourage firms from Gunma to invest in Vietnam, as well as welcome Vietnamese enterprisesto Gunma, particularly in the fields of information technology and digitaltransformation. Gunma also plans to receive more Vietnamese interns and workers,especially in the nursing field, he said, affirming his commitment tocontributing to joint work between Gunma and Vietnam, particularly in areas suggestedby the PM. Twelve businesses from the prefecture have already investedin Vietnam, primarily in industries such as plastics and transportationequipment. The Vietnamese community living there counts around 12,000 people, the largest foreign community in the prefecture./.