EXCLUSIVE: LDP’s Suzuki to Visit Vietnam, Singapore in July

Tokyo, June 11 (Jiji Press)–Japanese ruling party heavyweight Shunichi Suzuki is expected to visit Vietnam and Singapore on July 20-26, Jiji Press learned Thursday. The Liberal Democratic Party secretary-general hopes to meet with senior government officials and leading lawmakers of the two countries to demonstrate Japan’s stance of attaching importance to cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, LDP sources said. LDP Executive Active Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda will accompany Suzuki on his trip to Vietnam, according to the sources. At their meeting in Hanoi in early May, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Vietnamese counterpart, Le Minh Hung, reached an agreement on a list of priority issues of cooperation in the area of economic security. Suzuki hopes to meet with senior Communist Party of Vietnam officials to reaffirm Japan-Vietnam cooperation based on the agreement. In Singapore, he is expected to sign a memorandum on continued exchanges between the LDP and Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party, the sources said. The LDP bigwig will also likely exchange opinions with Singapore officials on international affairs, such as growing military coercion by China and energy issues reflecting Middle East tensions. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]