Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh (right, first row) and Japanese Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hirose Naoshi (left, first row) exchange MoU on cooperation in avoiding supply chain disruptions

Limitless cooperation possibilities

The visit, made at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, was PM Kishida’s first to Vietnam since he took office in October last year. It followed Vietnamese PM Chinh’s official visit to Japan in November 2021. The frequency of meetings and exchanges between senior leaders has created a driving force for promoting multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

Japan was the first G7 country to recognize Vietnam’s market economy status in October 2011. It is also the biggest official development assistance (ODA) provider, the third largest investor and the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam. Cooperation possibilities for Japan and Vietnam are limitless, said PM Kishida.

At a meeting with PM Chinh, the two leaders agreed to boost cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture and energy, while strengthening technology transfer to help Vietnam participate more deeply in global and regional supply chains, and providing support for Vietnam to accelerate digital transformation and build a digital government, economy and society.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (fifth from the right) and his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio (fifth from the left) attend the seminar on technology renovation, digital transformation and supply chain diversification

The two leaders also witnessed the exchange of 22 cooperation documents in various areas between their countries’ ministries, departments, localities and businesses. They reached high consensus on the orientations and detailed measures for opening up a new development stage for the extensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Supply chain diversification

PM Kishida emphasized cooperation in technology renovation, digital transformation and supply chain diversification. Speaking at a May 1 seminar, he urged greater collaboration to enhance the capacity and technology of Vietnam’s support industries, which he identified as key for the stable operations of Japanese firms.

In addition, Japan and Vietnam hope to continue working together to address socioeconomic issues through digital transformation. In particular, Vietnam plays an increasingly important role in the global supply chain. Among 92 Japanese-supported projects on diversifying supply chains in ASEAN, Vietnam leads with 39 projects.

To establish a cooperation mechanism for secure supply chains, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hagiuda Koichi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in avoiding supply chain disruptions, creating an additional cooperation framework to minimize the risk of supply chain disruptions, especially supply chains of strategic materials.