During the meeting, General Phan Van Giang expressed his pleasure at seeing Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru again, two years after the latter’s official visit to Vietnam in August 2024 in his capacity as Japanese Minister of Defense. He welcomed the steady progress of the Vietnam - Japan friendship and cooperation, which has become increasingly substantive and effective underpinned by strong political trust, particularly since the two countries upgraded their ties in 2023 to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
    |
 |
|
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru welcomes General Phan Van Giang (left). |
The guest reaffirmed that Vietnam always regards Japan as one of its most important and long-term partners. He expressed support for Japan’s growing role in promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, and emphasized Vietnam’s desire to work closely with Japan in advancing the strategic autonomy objectives of both countries. He also noted that the highly successful official visit to Vietnam by the Japanese Prime Minister early this May marked an important milestone, creating fresh momentum and opening new opportunities for bilateral cooperation across various fields.
Emphasizing that the official visit to Japan by the high-level delegation from Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) reflects Vietnam’s commitment to further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, particularly between their defense ministries, General Phan Van Giang expressed his sincere appreciation to Japan’s Ministry of Defense for arranging a meaningful program and extending a warm and thoughtful welcome to the Vietnamese delegation.
He added that, building on the achievements made during Kihara Minoru’s tenure as Japan’s Minister of Defense, Vietnam - Japan defense cooperation has continued to grow stronger, delivering tangible results and serving as a key pillar of bilateral relations. General Phan Van Giang expressed confidence that Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara would continue to support the further development of the two countries’ friendship and bilateral defense cooperation.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru welcomed the opportunity to meet General Phan Van Giang again in Tokyo and highly appreciated the significance of the Vietnamese MND delegation’s visit in further deepening bilateral relations as well as defense cooperation between the two ministries. He reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Vietnam within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world.
|
|
 |
|
General Phan Van Giang and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru during the meeting |
The Japanese official also affirmed the Japanese Government’s support for expanding defense cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries. He expressed hope that both sides would continue implementing the agreed areas of cooperation and voiced confidence that Vietnam - Japan bilateral defense ties would achieve new and steady progress in the coming years.
Earlier that morning, General Phan Van Giang and the Vietnamese high-level delegation visited the Joint Staff College of Japan in Tokyo. Accompanying the delegation was Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu.
The delegation was welcomed by Miyazaki Masahisa, Vice Minister of Defense and Vice Minister of the Cabinet Office of Japan, along with the college’s leadership. During the visit, the Vietnamese delegation held a courtesy meeting, received a briefing on the Joint Staff College, and toured several classrooms.
Translated by Tran Hoai