Japanese Crown Prince Akishino, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, met Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan on Thursday as he started his visit to Hanoi marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The visit by Akishino and his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, comes at a time when Tokyo is pushing to deepen ties with Southeast Asia and other emerging nations to tackle regional and global challenges.
Akishino stressed the importance of ties between the two nations at a news conference in Japan last week and said, 바카라I hope we can contribute as part of an effort to promote friendly relations between the two countries.바카라
The couple also laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Vietnam바카라s first president, Ho Chi Minh, and are scheduled to meet President Vo Van Thuong before travelling to Hoi An in central Vietnam.
The trip is Akishino바카라s third to Vietnam after earlier visits in 1999 and 2012.
Bilateral trade between the two countries was nearly USD 50 billion last year, making Japan the fourth-largest trading partner for Vietnam.
The couple바카라s visit comes three months after Emperor Naruhito and his wife Masako visited Indonesia, this year바카라s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as ASEAN and Japan mark 50 years of friendship. Japan is Indonesia바카라s largest provider of official development assistance, according to Japan바카라s Foreign Ministry.
