NA Chairman meets Japanese PM Takaichi in Hà Nội

National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn meets Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI – National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn met Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae at the National Assembly Building on the afternoon of May 2, during her official visit to Việt Nam.

Chairman Mẫn welcomed the Prime Minister and congratulated her and Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on their landslide victory in the lower house elections in February 2026 and on her continued appointment as prime minister. Recalling his official visit to Japan at the end of 2024, he expressed gratitude to the Japanese Government and parliament for the warm reception extended to the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation.

Prime Minister Takaichi congratulated Mẫn on his re-election as chairman of the 16th National Assembly, and thanked him and senior Vietnamese leaders for the welcome extended to her delegation.

Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the positive development of the Việt Nam–Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They affirmed the importance of parliamentary co-operation, agreed to strengthen political trust, promote high-level exchanges, enhance co-operation between the two parliaments’ specialised committees, and boost the activities of their respective friendship parliamentarians’ groups, young parliamentarians, and women parliamentarians.

Prime Minister Takaichi praised the role of the bilateral friendship parliamentarians’ group, noting that Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng had served as chairman of the Việt Nam–Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group.

Chairman Mẫn said the 16th National Assembly would soon restructure its friendship parliamentarians’ groups with various countries, and that the Việt Nam–Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group would continue to play an important role within that framework.

He stressed that the National Assembly would continue to exercise its oversight role and support commitments and co-operation agreements between the two countries, particularly in economics, trade, and investment. He commended Japan’s direct investment and official development assistance (ODA) contributions to Việt Nam’s socio-economic development, and affirmed Việt Nam’s readiness to provide a transparent and favourable legal environment for foreign investors, including Japanese businesses. He called on the Japanese Government to continue providing new-generation ODA and to help Japanese enterprises implement large-scale projects representative of Japanese technology in sectors where Japan holds strengths and Việt Nam has demand.

Affirming that the two countries have complementary strengths, Chairman Mẫn said both sides could deepen co-operation in technology, semiconductors, strategic supply chains, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, clean energy, digital transformation, biotechnology, and smart infrastructure.

Prime Minister Takaichi emphasised Japan’s support for Việt Nam’s reform efforts and development goals. She affirmed Japan’s desire to accompany Việt Nam in its new phase of development, strengthen co-operation through party and parliamentary channels, support Việt Nam’s economic and energy security, and give high priority to advanced technology co-operation – including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and space technology – in the period ahead.

She also asked the National Assembly to support the early ratification of the inter-governmental agreement on the development of Việt Nam–Japan University, and the agreement on facilitating the implementation of grant aid projects between the two governments.

Chairman Mẫn expressed appreciation and called on the Japanese Government to continue to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the nearly 700,000 Vietnamese living and studying in Japan, who serve as a bridge of friendship between the two countries.

He also raised co-operation with Japan in Cần Thơ – including the construction of Cần Thơ Bridge, investment by Japanese enterprises, and collaboration in education and human resource development – and expressed hope to promote people-to-people and local exchanges, as well as ties between Cần Thơ and Japan.

Prime Minister Takaichi noted that Japan was working to help foreign nationals, including Vietnamese citizens, live and work stably in Japan and to address consular matters relating to Vietnamese nationals there. She expressed her desire to further promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in the period ahead.

She also thanked Việt Nam for its active participation in the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025, and noted that Việt Nam had accepted an invitation to take part in the International Garden Exhibition 2027 (GREEN EXPO) in Yokohama.

On broader international matters, Chairman Mẫn said the National Assembly wished to continue close co-ordination with Japan’s parliament at multilateral forums, including the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Chairman Mẫn also conveyed his greetings to House of Representatives Speaker Mori Eisuke and extended an invitation for him to visit Việt Nam at the earliest opportunity. — VNS