HANOI: During a two-day visit to Hanoi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed to enhance economic ties as the two nations seek to bounce back following the Covid-19 pandemic, state media said on Sunday.
"We'll strengthen bilateral ties in order to put the economies of both nations back on a clear recovery path in the wake of the coronavirus," Kishida told reporters in Hanoi.
Chinh said the two countries agreed to boost trade and bolster supply chains to promote economic recovery after the pandemic. In 2021, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $42.7 billion.
Kishida also said Japan would support the development of Vietnam's cybersecurity capabilities while also strengthening the South-East Asian nation's railway network.
On Ukraine, Kishida said they recognised the need for the war to end, while Chinh announced a $500,000 donation to humanitarian causes in the conflict-torn country.
On the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia have clashed over conflicting territorial claims, Kishida said Japan strongly opposes the use of force for territorial gain in the resource-rich waterway.
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea as its territory and has built artificial islands with military-capable facilities over reefs and outcrops in the area, which are also claimed in part by Vietnam. Over 450,000 Vietnamese people live in Japan, making them the largest foreign group in the country. - dpa
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