Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) meets Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in Kinokawa city, June 30, 2019.   (Photo: Thong Nhat/ VNA)

Mr. Phuc met Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Sunday in Kinokawa city after attending the G20 Summit in Osaka. He extended congratulations to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Japanese government on the successful organization of the G20 Summit.

Mr. Nikai praised Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s participation in the G20 Summit and said more and more Vietnamese people are visiting, studying and working in Japan, thus promoting cultural exchanges and enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples.

The same day, Prime Minister Phuc attended the Japan-Vietnam Lotus Festival initiated by Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, who is also Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance.

“The festival displays Vietnamese lotus together with Japan’s Oga lotus. This is vivid evidence of the close bond between the two countries. Vietnam-Japan relations, which began more than 1,000 years ago, have been nurtured by people-to-people, cultural and trade exchanges,” said Mr Phuc.