Vietnam's president left for Japan yesterday for the first visit by a head of state from the communist country to its largest aid donor and one of its leading foreign investors.
Ahead of the five-day visit, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet said he looked forward to both sides soon freeing up trade and investment flows with an economic partnership agreement (EPA) that would transform bilateral ties.
The president was joined by key ministers and more than 100 business executives, the Thanh Nien daily reported.
Triet last week said he welcomed Japan's offers to help build a north-south railway and highway links and a high-tech industrial zone, and he also encouraged more investors from the economic powerhouse to come to Vietnam.
"I would like to call on Japanese investors to help manage the massive traffic problems in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi," he said, referring to the congested streets in Vietnam's largest city and the capital.
Triet also thanked Japan for its overseas development aid, which had topped US$11 billion and made up about a third of the total aid to Vietnam over the past 15 years, the state-run Vietnam News daily reported.
Speaking about the 54 deaths in the September collapse of a bridge being built in the southern Mekong delta by Japanese companies, Triet said the incident was unfortunate but would not impede relations, state media said.
Japan and Vietnam established bilateral ties in 1973, when the Southeast Asian nation was still at war. Today the developing country is a fast-emerging economy that last year recorded over 8 percent economic growth.
Two-way trade between Japan and Vietnam topped US$10 billion this year, state media said, and Japan had more than 900 investment projects worth about US$8.8 billion in Vietnam as of last month.
Vietnam, which is set to join the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member next year, has also sought to become a more prominent regional diplomatic player, hosting talks early this year between Japan and North Korea.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS