Japan-Vietnam leaders meet to accelerate cooperation on important minerals

On the night of the 9th, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary and President Tho Lam at the State Guest House in Moto-Akasaka, Tokyo. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in the area of ​​economic security and agreed to accelerate the formation of concrete cooperation projects related to important minerals. They also agreed to collaborate on artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.

The two leaders issued a joint statement after the meeting. At the joint press announcement, the Prime Minister said, ``We will take our bilateral relations to new heights,'' to which Lam responded, ``We are partners who will walk together, build a future together, and benefit from each other.''

During the meeting, opinions were exchanged regarding the situation in the South China Sea and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, where China continues to engage in hegemonic behavior. The two leaders agreed to deepen their cooperation toward realizing the Prime Minister's evolving Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision.

The two leaders also confirmed the promotion of security cooperation. The Prime Minister pledged to provide Vietnam with equipment for United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKO) as soon as possible, utilizing the framework of the Government Security Capacity Development Assistance (OSA), which provides defense equipment and other items free of charge to like-minded countries.

The two countries also agreed to begin preliminary talks toward the conclusion of a new agreement under which both countries would mutually notify each other of information on the other's nationals arrested or detained in their own countries. They also agreed to mutually lift the ban on imports of Vietnamese citrus pomelo and Japanese grapes.