On June 2, in Hanoi, General Phan Van Giang, Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense received General Uchikura Hiroaki, Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces of Japan on the occasion of his official visit to Vietnam from May 31 - June 3.
Exchanging at the reception, General Phan Van Giang highly appreciated the results of the previous talks between the two delegations, expressing his belief that the success of General Uchikura Hiroaki's official visit to Vietnam this time will contribute to promoting friendly relations, cooperation, trust and mutual understanding between the two Ministries of National Defense, the Vietnam People's Army and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang affirmed that Vietnam always values the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the world with Japan.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in September 1973, Vietnam-Japan relations have always been of concern and promoted by senior leaders of the two countries. Japan is Vietnam's leading important economic partner, leading in providing ODA, the largest labor cooperation partner, the third largest investment partner, and the fourth largest trading partner. People-to-people exchanges have developed rapidly and deeply.
Along with the deep development of Vietnam-Japan relations, bilateral defense cooperation is constantly expanding, going deeper and becoming more and more effective and practical.
Japan is one of the few Vietnamese partners that fully maintains the Deputy Minister-level Defense Policy Dialogue, and consultations with staff officers of the Navy, Army and Air Force.
General Phan Van Giang highly appreciated Japan's cooperation and support in fields such as training, defense industry, technology transfer, and war recovery; wishing that in the coming time, the two sides will closely coordinate and implement the agreed cooperation contents so that defense cooperation is truly a pillar in the relationship between the two countries.
General Phan Van Giang affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense supports and creates all conditions for the contents of cooperation between the two sides to be implemented smoothly and achieve substantial results, focusing on maintaining consultation and dialogue mechanisms; signing cooperation documents; strengthening cooperation between military branches, armed forces, defense industry; training cooperation; cooperation in military medicine, cyber security, United Nations peacekeeping, war recovery; coordination and mutual support in multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM+)...
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Vietnam wished Japan to continue to allocate existing scholarships and expand training types, increase the quota for university and postgraduate training in science and technology for the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam.
On this occasion, General Phan Van Giang respectfully invited leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, the Self-Defense Forces and Japanese defense industry enterprises to attend the 3rd Vietnam International Defense Exhibition in December 2026.
Affirming that Japan always values and promotes cooperation with Vietnam on the basis of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the world, General Uchikura Hiroaki wished that in the coming time, the two sides would coordinate and promote bilateral defense cooperation relations, focusing on the fields of: Delegation exchanges, high-level contacts, training, cybersecurity, military medicine...
