Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the statement at a June 20 reception for former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who is in Hanoi for the third Viet Nam ICT Summit and the Vietnam-Japan science and technology cooperation workshop.

PM Dung spoke highly of Yukio Hatoyama’s visit and his contributions to strengthening and consolidating the bilateral ties in politics, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchange.

He expressed his wish that the former Japanese PM will continue making his contributions to the two countries’ relations, firstly strengthening political and diplomatic ties and mutual support at international forum.

The two sides should accelerate economic, trade and investment cooperation as well as creating conditions for Vietnamese products to enter Japan and for Japanese businesses to do long-term investment in Vietnam, he said.

Affirming Vietnam’s effective use of Japanese official development assistance (ODA), PM Dung suggested Japan increase the aid to the country to develop its infrastructure.

Viet Nam wants to boost cooperation with Japan in science and technology and human resources training, he said, suggesting Japan create conditions for Vietnamese students to pursue their study in the country and open vocational colleges in Viet Nam.

For his part, Yukio Hatoyama expressed his hope that the two countries’ strategic partnership will continue developing in all aspects, bringing practical benefits to both sides.

He affirmed that Japan will continue support for Vietnam in human resources training, support industry development, and science and technology.

Expressing pleasure at Viet Nam’s effective use of Japanese ODA, the former Japanese PM said he hopes that in the coming time, Japan will continue providing ODA for Viet Nam in infrastructure development, particularly roads and seaports, and human resources training.