The Vietnam-Japan Friendship Year got underway in Ho Chi Minh City on
February 27 to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties
between Vietnam and Japan .
The launch,
organised by the Japanese Consulate General in HCM City , saw the
participation of municipal leaders and various Japanese businesses in
the city.
Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s
Committee Le Manh Ha said the ceremony was significant as it heralds an
array of cultural and artistic activities to be held in the locality to
greet the two countries’ 40-year diplomatic relations.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1973, Vietnam and
Japan have enjoyed constant developments in all fields of their
relationship, Ha said, citing Japan as the first country in the Group
of Seven (G7) to set up strategic partnership with Vietnam , in
April, 2009.
The strategic partnership has also
further tightened the relations between governments and people of
Vietnam and Japan , according to Harumitsu Hida, Japanese Consul
General in HCM City .
He noted that in March, various
cultural exchanges will take place in HCM City to introduce
Japanese culture to Vietnamese friends.
During the event,
participants had a chance explore special taste of various kinds of
Sake , Japan ’s most famous rice wine, introduced by Japanese wine
experts.
Over the past 40 years, over the ups and downs of history, the Vietnam-Japan relations have yielded a lot of fruits.
On the plane of politics, high-ranking leaders have regularly exchanged visits to strengthen bilateral ties.
In the field of trade, Japan is now Vietnam ’s third largest
partner with a two-way trade turnover reaching nearly 25 billion USD in
2012.
By the end of last year, the country ranked
first among countries and territories investing in Vietnam with over
1,800 projects with a total registered capital of 29 billion USD.-VNA