Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said their countries will cooperate further on infrastructure projects in areas such as urban development and energy.
Kishida said he and Minh also pledged when they met Monday in Tokyo to promote free trade, including under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, of which both Japan and Vietnam are signatories.
The future prospects of the Pacific Rim trade deal are set to be discussed at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to be hosted by Vietnam in November. The likelihood that the pact will go into force was complicated by President Donald Trump withdrawing the United States upon coming to office in January.