Hanoi (VNA) - A scientific symposium tookplace in Hanoi on September 18, discussing relations between Vietnam and Japan and economiccooperation prospects in alignment with Vietnam’s development phases.

Held to mark the 50th anniversary of the nations’diplomatic ties, the event was co-organized by the Ho Chi Minh National Academyof Politics (HCMA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

In his opening speech, Associate Professor Dr. Hoang VanNghia, head of the HCMA’s international cooperation department, praised Japan'srole in Vietnam's multifaceted economic development. Japan's contributions havehelped Vietnam maintain a trajectory of stable growth, driven by thefar-reaching impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI). Projects with Japan's supportin terms of finance, experts and technology have assisted Vietnam in switching froma model heavily reliant on capital and labour to one with a robustexport-oriented structure.

Sugano Yuichi, Chief Representative of JICA in Vietnam, said the symposium ispart of the JICA CHAIRS programme, which has been executed since 2020 todisseminate valuable lessons and experience garnered from Japan's socio-economicdevelopment journey.

Sugano expressed his optimism that participating experts willexchange insights into effective collaboration methods underpinning the partnership between the twocountries.

Professor Tran Van Tho, an honorary professor at Japan’s Waseda University,stressed Japan's keen interest in Vietnam's development path and their cooperationencompassing institutional reforms, business climate improvement, and supportfor Vietnam’s devising of industrialization strategies. Related initiativesserving such efforts include the Ishikawa project (1995-2000), Vietnam-Japan initiativefrom 2003 onwards, and an array of industrial policy research endeavours./.