On the evening of May 2nd, in Hanoi, the governments of Vietnam and Japan solemnly held a ceremony to award the First Class Rising Sun Order of the Great Cross of Japan to former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Attending the ceremony were Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
Also attending were Standing Secretary of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu; Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang; Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung; Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee Nguyen Thanh Nghi; leaders of central departments, ministries, branches, Hanoi city and friends of Vietnam and Japan.
Having gone through more than half a century since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Vietnam-Japan relations have continuously developed strongly, becoming one of the successful models of comprehensive and effective bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and a country in the region.
The great achievements of the two countries' relations today are the result of the persistent efforts of many generations of leaders and people of the two countries, constantly nurturing and laying a solid foundation for bilateral relations, including the important role of former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The Rising Sun Order is Japan's most noble reward, not only a recognition of the contributions of the two former leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam, but also a demonstration of the Japanese Government's appreciation for the efforts of the leaders and people of the two countries in promoting Vietnam-Japan relations to become increasingly strong.
After listening to the Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam announce the decision of the Japanese Emperor, on behalf of the State and Government of Japan, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae awarded the First-class Rising Sun Order of the Great Cross to former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung presents flowers to congratulate two former leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam.
Speaking at the ceremony, former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh expressed his emotion and honor together with former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to receive the First-class Rising Sun Order of the Great Cross from the State and the Government of Japan; affirming that this is a recognition of the common efforts of many generations of leaders and people of Vietnam and Japan in the common cause of nurturing and promoting relations between the two countries.
Former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh recalled the milestone when he paid an official visit to Japan in 2009 and together with Prime Minister Taro Aso issued a Joint Statement, establishing a relationship of "Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia". Meanwhile, in his position as Prime Minister of Vietnam in the period 2006-2016, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung devoted a lot of enthusiasm and close direction to concretize commitments, bringing cooperation between the two countries into depth, efficiency and substance on all pillars from politics, economy to people-to-people exchanges.
Honored to contribute part of the efforts to the process of building and developing Vietnam-Japan friendly cooperation relations, former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh wished the Vietnam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to develop more and more and achieve many new achievements.
