Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh holds phone talks with Governor of Japan’s Gunma prefecture Yamamoto Ichita on November 18, 2020. (Photo: Vietnam Government Portal).

Minh expressed his delight at the development of the two countries’ extensive strategic partnership as well as Vietnam’s cooperation with Gunma in particular, appreciating the Gunma administration’s various measures to support Vietnamese people there such as setting up a hotline providing COVID-19-related advice in Vietnamese and offering help for foreigners, including Vietnamese, who catch the disease.

He noted that the Vietnamese Government is carrying out measures to help its citizens in Japan and hopes that Gunma authorities will continue assisting Vietnamese people there to cope with the pandemic.

Applauding the prefecture’s active promotion of exchange with Vietnam, Minh asked Yamamoto to coordinate in promoting the reception of Vietnamese workers and apprentices, enhancing cultural exchange, and encouraging Gunma businesses to increase investment in Vietnam.

For his part, the governor pledged to work closely with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan to actively help Vietnamese citizens stabilise their lives and carry out anti-COVID-19 measures.

He noted Japanese enterprises, including those from Gunma, are interested in and highly value Vietnam’s investment climate, affirming that his prefecture’s administration will continue assisting and encouraging local businesses to invest in Vietnam.

At the meeting, Yamamoto proposed the two sides boost cooperation to create a favourable environment for Vietnamese apprentices in Gunma. He also suggested the Gunma Prefectural Women’s University and universities of Vietnam step up exchange.

Minh welcomed the governor’s proposals, noting that he will ask related ministries, sectors and the Vietnamese Embassy to discuss with Gunma so as to realise the suggestions effectively.

There are about 10,000 Vietnamese in Gunma at present, making this prefecture home to the highest ratio of Vietnamese people to the population in Japan.