Vietnam president to visit Japan as countries discuss stronger ties

Panasonic Holdings

23/11/2023 09:23

HANOI, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Vietnam's president, Vo Van
Thuong, will visit Japan next week, a Vietnamese foreign
ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, as the two countries
discuss strengthening their relations.
    Closer ties would confirm Vietnam's increasingly strategic
role as an important link in global supply chains amid trade
tension between China and the West, which is helping to bring 
foreign investment to the southeast Asian country as some
companies relocate operations from China.
    The elevation of ties with Japan would follow Vietnam's
historic upgrade of relations with the United States in
September, when the former foes signed multiple cooperation
agreements, including on semiconductors and critical minerals.
    It may also be followed by a visit to Hanoi by China's
President Xi Jinping, who according to officials and diplomats,
could travel to Vietnam in December and agree on a joint
statement indicating the two countries share a common destiny. 
    Thuong's visit from Monday to Thursday next week is his
first to Japan as president and coincides with celebrations for
the 50th anniversary of ties between the Asian countries.
    Vietnam classifies Japan as a strategic partner, one notch
below China, Russia, South Korea, India and the United States.
    Japan is Vietnam's third-largest source of foreign
investment and its fourth-largest trading partner.
    Several Japanese multinationals have big factories in the
southeast Asian manufacturing hub, including Canon  7739.T ,
Honda  7267.T , Panasonic  6752.T  and Bridgestone  5108.T .  
    Talks about a possible diplomatic upgrade have been going on
for months with officials discussing possible cooperation
agreements, diplomats said.
    It is not clear whether an upgrade would be announced during
Thuong's visit or later.
    "The visit will contribute to deepening relations between
the two countries in trade, investment and the economy,"
Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesperson told a press conference,
declining to comment about a possible upgrade.
    

 (Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; editing by
Robert Birsel)
 ((Francesco.Guarascio@thomsonreuters.com;))