Visiting Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, welcomed new official development assistance from Japan totaling ¥120 billion in yen loans.
High-ranking officials from the two countries also signed a document in Tokyo on five infrastructure projects using the yen loans, including building two expressway sections, an international port and a thermal electric power plant.
Officials also agreed in written statements to promote Japanese assistance in agriculture, welfare and medical services and education.
"We have established new directions of the two countries for a new development stage," Sang told a news conference after his meeting with Abe.
Meanwhile, Abe said a fact-finding mission will soon be sent to assess Japan's plan to provide patrol ships to beef up Vietnam's coast guard.
Abe and Sang also agreed that all relevant countries should comply with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in settling maritime security issues, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting.
They did not mention any specific countries when discussing maritime security during their meeting, according to Japanese officials. But the joint statement is likely designed to keep China in check, as Japan has the Senkaku dispute with China in the East China Sea and Vietnam has a similar row in the South China Sea.
Sang arrived Sunday for a four-day visit. He was set to head for Osaka on Wednesday to meet with business leaders there.
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