Vietnam and Japan have discussed the resumption of commercial flights depending on the pandemic situation.

Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (right) and Japan’s FM Motegi Toshimitsu. Photo: Vietnam MOFA

The move is expected to boost the bilateral economic ties, reported at the teleconference between Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Japan’s counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu on April 27.

Resuming commercial flights has been included in the economic links between Vietnam and Japan since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020.

Since then, the two countries have sought ways to accelerate business reopening as Japan is one of Vietnam’s biggest investors and official development assistance (ODA) providers.

The reopening of borders for business travelers have been conducted sometimes as the nations put the Covid-19 crisis behind them.

In addition, demand for travelling between the two countries gets increasing with a large number of Japanese experts working in Vietnam and Japan is home to more than 400,000 Vietnamese people.

In a latest move, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) in March proposed the resumption of commercial flights with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (China) from this July.

In July 2020, Vietnam and Japan reached an agreement to resume business travel for the other’s expatriates and long-term residents in each country.

Over the past years, Japan has already established a prominent footprint in Vietnam.

Japan ranked second behind South Korea in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam on a cumulative basis in 2019.

It is also the country’s 4th largest trade partner, after China, the US, and South Korea. Both countries belong to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

Hanh Nguyen, M.A. in International Relations at International Christian University, Tokyo, wrote for The Diplomat that the robust partnership between Japan and Vietnam is above all underpinned by economic calculations.