Tokyo: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo on December 17 on the occasion of his trip to Tokyo to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.

PM Chinh expressed his impression of the theory ‘From heart to heart’ initiated by PM Fukuda Takeo, the father of former PM Fukuda Yasuo, in 1977, which laid the foundation for the development of the ASEAN-Japan relationship.

He praised the contributions of the former PM to the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in his capacity as the PM of Japan as well as in different positions. He asked Fukuda to continue support the Vietnam-Japan comprehensive strategic partnership, and invited him to visit Vietnam again.

The former Japanese PM appreciated Vietnam’s role and contributions in the region and the world as a whole, and affirmed that the Japanese Government is willing to work in Vietnam in its modernization and industrialization cause.

Fukuda said Japan
considers promoting cooperation with Asian countries, including Vietnam, especially in human resources, a priority in its external relations, and wants to continue collaborating with Vietnam and receive more labour from Vietnam.

He pledged to continue working to further tighten the friendship and enhance mutual understanding between the people of Vietnam and Japan through cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He added that he will continue to support the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan in organising the Vietnam Festival in Tokyo in the years to come./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency