After taking his office on December 28, 2012, PM Shinzo Abe spoke to PM Nguyen Tan Dung twice on the phone and chose Viet Nam for his first overseas trip on January 16-17.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung paid official visits to Japan in October 2006, October 2011, May 2009, November 2009 and April 2012.

Japan is one of Viet Nam’s top economic partners and the first nation in the Group of Seven recognized Viet Nam as the market economy in October 2011.

Japan is the largest official development assistance (ODA) provider for Viet Nam with US$2.3 billion and the biggest investor in Viet Nam (in term of both investment capital and disbursed capital).

An agreement on investment promotion and reciprocal protection inked in December 2004 and the Japan-Viet Nam Economic Partnership Agreement signed in October 2009 have created a legal framework for bilateral economic and trade development.

Viet Nam’s industrialization strategy within the framework of Viet Nam-Japan cooperation towards 2020, with a vision till 2030 was ratified in July 2013.

Japan is the third largest trade partner of Viet Nam with two-way trade turnover hitting US$24.7 billion in 2012 and US$22.933 billion over the past 11 months of 2013 (Viet Nam’s respective export and import turnover being US$12.356 billion and US$10.577 billion).

On labor, since 1992, Viet Nam has sent 31,000 apprentices to Japan. In recent years, the number increased from 5,500 in 2009 to 8,500 in 2012.

On science and technology, the Joint Committee of the Japan-Viet Nam Cooperation in Science and Technology has held three sessions since the two sides signed the Agreement on Science and Technology.

The two nations signed a Joint Declaration on Tourism Cooperation in April 2005. As many as 481,519 Japanese visited Viet Nam in 2012 and 553,585 came over the past 11 months of 2013, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%.  

The official visit of PM Nguyen Tan Dung takes place on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties./.