PM Le Minh Hung: Vietnam-Japan localities and businesses should shift from cooperation to co-creation, from technology transfer to joint development
WVR - Local cooperation is a crucial pillar in the overall Vietnam-Japan relationship, serving as a direct bridge to deepen and substantiate the cooperative directions between the two nations, according to theVietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum 2026.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung poses with delegates attending the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
On September 6, in Hue City, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, in collaboration with the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and the People's Committee of Hue City, organized the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum 2026, themed “Creating a Digital, Green, and Sustainable Future: From Strategic Commitment to Substantive Action”. Member of the Politburo, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung attended and delivered a keynote speech at the Forum.
The Forum aims to establish the first regular dialogue mechanism between the localities of the two countries, contributing to enhancing exchanges, sharing experiences, and promoting substantive cooperation, bringing harmonious benefits to both sides.
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| Overview of the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Attending the Forum, on the Vietnamese side, were Member of the Politburo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung; Member of the Central Committee, Minister, Head of the Government Office Dang Xuan Phong; Member of the Central Committee, Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan; Member of the Central Committee, Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee Nguyen Dinh Trung; leaders of ministries, sectors, related agencies, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu, and Consuls General of Vietnam in Japan, leaders and representatives of departments, sectors of localities, along with prominent corporations, companies, and experts.
On the Japanese side, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae sent a congratulatory message; attending were Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki; Governor of Nara Prefecture Yamashita Makoto, along with leaders representing localities, businesses from Japan, and Japanese partners operating in Vietnam.
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| Member of the Politburo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung delivers the opening speech at the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Local cooperation - A crucial, substantive pillar
In his opening speech at the Forum, Member of the Politburo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung expressed his honor and gratitude to Prime Minister Le Minh Hung for his great interest and time to attend and deliver a keynote speech at the Forum.
“The presence and participation of the Prime Minister is a great encouragement, demonstrating the high priority and interest of the Vietnamese Government and the Prime Minister himself in promoting the Vietnam-Japan relationship and local cooperation between the two countries to become more effective, substantive, and sustainable,” the Minister emphasised.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung stressed that the Forum takes place at a significant time for both countries, being the largest international local cooperation activity organized in Vietnam after the successful 14th National Party Congress.
According to the Minister, the Forum is highly topical, concretizing the working content between Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae last May, where the leaders of the two governments committed to further promoting the connection of human resources and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries through local cooperation, labor, healthcare, culture, and tourism.
Minister Le Hoai Trung affirmed that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan is developing strongly and substantively in all fields, with a solid foundation of political trust, dynamic economic cooperation, and increasingly close people-to-people exchanges.
Referring to local cooperation, Minister Le Hoai Trung emphasized that over many years of nurturing, local cooperation has become a crucial, substantive pillar in the Vietnam-Japan relationship. The network of cooperation between the localities of the two countries is increasingly expanding with various forms, with nearly 120 cooperation agreements signed and implemented in many fields, from trade, investment, human resource training to culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
The Minister noted that Japanese enterprises are present in many localities in Vietnam, making significant contributions to socio-economic development, technology transfer, job creation, and capacity enhancement.
Assessing Hue as a typical locality in cooperation with Japan, the Minister noted that the city has received early and significant support from Japan in heritage restoration and ODA projects on livelihood; Japan is also a traditional and key international tourist market for the ancient capital of Hue. In recent years, many major Japanese corporations have chosen Hue as a “destination” in green industry, logistics, and services.
Regarding the Forum's theme, Minister Le Hoai Trung stated that in the context of digital transformation and artificial intelligence changing governance, production, and social life, while climate change and natural resource depletion pose urgent requirements for green transformation and sustainable development, the theme “Creating a Digital, Green, and Sustainable Future: From Strategic Commitment to Substantive Action” is very practical.
The Minister believes this is an opportunity for the localities of the two countries to introduce their potential, strengths, and cooperation needs, share experiences, development models; and directly exchange with businesses, organizations, and related partners. The Minister is confident that Vietnamese localities can find in Japan a wealth of experience, advanced technology, modern management resources, knowledge, and optimal development solutions; while Japanese localities can find in Vietnam a vast space for investment, production, business, innovation, human resources, and an open consumer market.
The Minister hopes that delegates will actively exchange and frankly discuss specific cooperation needs, encountered difficulties, and propose initiatives that can connect and be implemented in practice.
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| Member of the Central Committee, Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee Nguyen Dinh Trung delivers a welcome speech at the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Opening new cooperation spaces
In his welcome speech at the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum 2026, Member of the Central Committee, Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee Nguyen Dinh Trung stated that Hue City is honored to be trusted and chosen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam to host the Forum.
According to the Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee, with the theme “Creating a Digital, Green, and Sustainable Future: From Strategic Commitment to Substantive Action”, the Forum is an opportunity for localities, businesses, organizations, and partners from both countries to exchange visions, share experiences, connect resources, and seek cooperation opportunities.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trung is confident that, with an open, sincere, and trustworthy spirit, the Forum will not only provide valuable lessons but also initiate many practical initiatives, thereby connecting needs with capabilities, linking ideas with resources, gradually transforming initiatives into specific cooperation programs and projects, creating new momentum for the good relationship between Vietnamese and Japanese localities.
Introducing the potential and strengths of Hue, Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee Nguyen Dinh Trung emphasized that Hue is an ancient capital with a rich history, preserving the unique values of national culture, possessing and co-owning 8 UNESCO-recognized heritages along with a diverse natural ecosystem. Hue is also a center for specialized healthcare, education, training, science, and technology in the Central region and a distinctive Festival city of Vietnam.
According to him, the city is gradually building and developing a heritage city in a green, ecological, smart, and environmentally friendly direction.
The Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee affirmed that Japan is always an important and reliable partner of the city. The cooperative relationship between Hue and Japanese localities, agencies, and organizations, such as Kyoto Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Shizuoka City, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has deepened bilateral friendship, exchanges, and cooperation.
Besides, he noted that the presence and activities of Japanese businesses in the area, such as Aeon Vietnam, Mitani Sangyo, Brycen, and Hue Foods, are vivid evidence of the economic cooperation potential between Hue and Japanese partners.
On this foundation, Hue City wishes to continue consolidating, expanding, and deepening its cooperative relationship with Japan, prioritizing fields that align with the city's development orientation, such as innovation, science and technology, digital transformation, smart and sustainable urban development, heritage conservation and tourism development, education and training, trade investment, and the development of economic and industrial zones.
Specifically, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trung hopes that the Hue-Japan Connection Conference and field survey programs within the event's framework will provide opportunities for authorities, businesses, and investors from both sides to directly exchange and better identify each other's needs and advantages. According to him, this will be an important premise for forming specific cooperation programs and projects, bringing practical implementation effectiveness.
The Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee also expressed hope that the hospitality and sincerity of the people of the ancient capital, the unique cultural space of Hue, along with the city's efforts in building a green, sustainable urban area, will provide delegates with wonderful and memorable experiences.
With the spirit of “From Strategic Commitment to Substantive Action”, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trung believes that the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum 2026 will open new cooperation spaces, creating additional momentum to elevate the relationship between localities, organizations, and business communities of the two countries to a new height.
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| Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki reads a message from Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae sent to the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Co-creating a strong future
Sending congratulations to the Forum, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae expressed joy at the Forum's continuation of last year's success and appreciated the efforts and contributions of delegates, local governments, and business communities from both countries in promoting Vietnam-Japan cooperation.
The Prime Minister noted that during her official visit to Vietnam in May this year, she received a warm welcome from Vietnam's senior leaders. Through the visit, the Prime Minister deeply felt that the Vietnam-Japan cooperation relationship is increasingly being strongly promoted in various fields, from people-to-people exchanges, economy, economic security to culture and defense.
Referring to Hue City - the host locality of the Forum, the Prime Minister noted that Hue has established close friendships and cooperative relations with many Japanese localities, including Nara Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, and Shizuoka City. The Prime Minister expressed delight at the special connection with Member of the Politburo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, as Hue is also the Minister's hometown.
The Japanese Prime Minister warmly welcomed the vibrant and positive exchange and cooperation activities between the localities of the two countries, emphasizing that the dynamism and strength of each locality are also the strength of the nation.
The Japanese leader expects that the dynamism and youthful internal resources of Vietnamese localities, combined with the experiences and know-how accumulated by Japanese localities over many years, especially in local industrial development, tourism promotion, and human resource training, will contribute to enhancing the autonomy and adaptability of both nations.
The Prime Minister called on both sides to move forward together to create a strong and prosperous future, expressing hope that through this Forum, the good cooperative relationship between Japan and Vietnam will continue to be consolidated and developed more deeply.
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| Governor of Nara Prefecture Yamashita Makoto speaks at the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Sharing and connecting together
At the Forum, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki expressed hope that cooperation between the two countries will continue to expand both in breadth and depth, contributing to making the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan increasingly substantive and sustainable.
According to the Ambassador, the Forum is an opportunity for the governments, local authorities, and business communities of both countries to seek solutions to challenges in community development, industry, and innovation. He emphasized that improving the investment environment in localities, including ensuring human resources, infrastructure development, simplifying administrative procedures, and perfecting preferential policies, are important conditions to promote cooperation.
Referring to the dialogue between Vietnamese Government leaders and the Japanese business community held before the Forum, Ambassador Ito Naoki noted that this is an opportunity for Japanese businesses to directly share difficulties, obstacles, and recommendations; while expressing hope that the Vietnamese Government will continue to listen, acknowledge the opinions from Japan, and remain steadfast in reform efforts to promote double-digit economic growth.
The Ambassador also shared about the Investment Forum at the Japanese Embassy, which he chaired for the first time last month, with representatives from Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Dien Bien, Son La provinces, and nearly 30 Japanese businesses attending. Through the event, he saw more clearly the diverse potential of Vietnamese localities and affirmed that he will continue to proactively promote substantive cooperation activities between Japan and Vietnamese provinces and cities.
Representing Japanese localities, speaking at the Forum, Governor of Nara Prefecture Yamashita Makoto noted that the second Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum is an important bridge for the localities of the two countries to strengthen friendly relations, while creating a premise to promote extensive cooperation programs in the future.
Introducing Nara, Mr. Yamashita Makoto noted that this locality is located in the central Kansai region, conveniently connected to major centers like Osaka and Kyoto. Nara boasts rich nature, beautiful landscapes, and diverse industries. Notably, Nara was Japan's first capital from the 7th to the 8th century, possessing many historical and cultural values.
Governor Yamashita Makoto emphasized that Nara and Hue share many similarities, both having been ancient capitals with many important historical heritages. On this basis, the two localities are promoting cooperation in traditional festivals, while expanding cooperation in attracting investment, human resources, and receiving Vietnamese labor.
He also noted that Nara is implementing many programs to receive Vietnamese students to study at schools in the area, thereby contributing to enhancing exchanges and connecting people between the two localities.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung delivers a keynote speech at the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Five important directions
Delivering a keynote speech at the Forum, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung highly appreciated the theme “Creating a Digital, Green, and Sustainable Future: From Strategic Commitment to Substantive Action”, noting that the theme accurately reflects the requirements for the development process of each nation, locality, enterprise, as well as the Vietnam-Japan relationship in the new phase.
According to the Prime Minister, the Forum is an important activity to implement the agreement between the Prime Minister and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae during her official visit to Vietnam in early May 2026, and it is also a unique mechanism that Vietnam has established with Japan. This affirms that local cooperation is a crucial pillar in the overall comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the Vietnam-Japan relationship is built on a foundation of political trust, cultural similarities, people-to-people connections, and increasingly intertwined and shared interests. Since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, bilateral cooperation has continued to expand and deepen in many fields, from economy, science and technology, innovation, high-quality human resource training to local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister thanked and highly appreciated the contributions of the Japanese government, localities, businesses, and organizations to Vietnam's socio-economic development and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Referring to the achievements after 40 years of renovation, the Prime Minister noted that Vietnam, from a country under embargo, has become the 32nd largest economy in the world, among the 15 countries with the largest trade scale globally, participating in 17 free trade agreements and connecting with 60 key economies in the region and globally. The GDP per capita has increased nearly 50 times compared to the beginning of the renovation process, placing Vietnam in the group of upper-middle-income countries according to the World Bank's ranking.
In the context of rapid and complex global changes, Vietnam remains steadfast in the motto of stability for development and development to consolidate stability. According to the Prime Minister, the socio-economic situation in the first seven months of 2026 continues to achieve important results, with high GDP growth on a stable macroeconomic foundation, a strong increase in total foreign direct investment, and positive economic prospects as assessed by international organizations.
Entering a new era, Vietnam is determined to successfully achieve two centennial goals, striving for double-digit growth in the 2026-2030 period while maintaining macroeconomic stability, ensuring the major balances of the economy; and at the same time, developing rapidly and sustainably, taking science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the foundation.
For the foreign-invested economic sector, the Prime Minister cited Resolution No. 10 dated June 8, 2026, of the Politburo on developing the foreign-invested economy, identifying it as an important component of the national economy. Vietnam not only aims to attract investment capital but also seeks to attract advanced technology, knowledge, modern management, investment in research and development, high-quality human resources, while promoting substantive and effective linkages with domestic enterprises.
The Prime Minister noted that organizing the Forum in Hue, the ancient capital with many world cultural heritages, carries a profound message about the need to harmoniously combine tradition and modernity, conservation and development, culture and technology, people and growth. Through this, both sides can co-create new cooperation opportunities and development momentum, serving the strategic autonomy and development goals of the two countries.
Based on epochal changes and potential, complementary advantages, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung suggested five directions for delegates to discuss at the Forum.
First, Vietnam and Japan need to identify themselves as partners in high-quality growth and strategic autonomy based on science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation. Both sides should study promoting cooperation models in digital technology, AI, semiconductors, smart cities, sustainable agriculture, startup incubators, and research and development centers. Japan can share experiences and support Vietnamese localities and businesses in building an innovation ecosystem, promoting digital transformation in local governments, and enhancing policy-making and management capabilities in new strategic fields such as AI, semiconductors, quantum, and satellites.
Second, cooperation should be implemented in the spirit of “choosing the right, implementing quickly, doing to the end, and measuring by results”. The Prime Minister pointed out the issues that localities of the two countries are facing, such as a shortage of high-quality human resources, limitations in science and technology and supporting industries in Vietnam; labor shortages, an aging population, and declining growth momentum in Japan. Therefore, localities need to focus on their strengths, identify priority areas that can complement each other, and propose specific and feasible cooperation initiatives and projects for immediate implementation.
Third, localities, enterprises, and people should be at the center of cooperation. According to the Prime Minister, the Forum should truly become an opportunity for the governments and localities of the two countries to listen to the opinions of businesses and people, proactively build preferential policies, and create a favorable environment for connection and investment. At the same time, people must be the main beneficiaries, with more jobs, higher incomes, and better skills.
Fourth, cultural exchange and mutual understanding should be considered the foundation of long-term cooperative relations. Both sides are suggested to study specific initiatives to enhance cultural, tourism, and people-to-people connections; develop joint tourism products, open more direct flights between localities, strengthen youth exchanges, organize study tours, student exchanges, share experiences, and promote heritage values and cultural industries.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung delivers a keynote speech at the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Fifth, Vietnam and Japan need to strengthen cooperation in green transformation, climate change response, and disaster prevention and control. Japanese localities can share experiences through specific projects on green infrastructure, urban flood prevention, waste and wastewater treatment, climate-adaptive smart agriculture, renewable energy, and disaster prevention and control.
The Prime Minister urged localities and businesses of the two countries to play a pioneering role, embrace innovation, and boldly change their mindset and cooperation methods; transitioning from cooperation to co-creation, from transfer to joint development.
Accordingly, Japanese businesses should not only view Vietnam as a consumer market or production location but should recognize Vietnam as a center for production, innovation, green and sustainable connectivity, serving Japanese localities and the economy.
Affirming the motto “Action, action, and action; Work, work, and work”, the Prime Minister stated that the Vietnamese government, ministries, sectors, and localities will continue to accompany Japanese localities and investors, promoting the removal of obstacles, significantly improving the investment and business environment, and building an open institutional framework to facilitate effective and substantive local cooperation between the two countries in the new development phase.
The Prime Minister also requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with Japanese agencies, localities, and businesses to regularly review, summarize, and report to the Prime Minister on the implementation of commitments and agreements at the Forum, thereby ensuring the cooperation mechanism operates effectively and efficiently, contributing to deepening and elevating the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan to a new height.
