Vietnamese president to pay state visit to Japan

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang will pay a state visit to Japan on March 16-19 at the invitation of Japanese Emperor Akihito, Vietnamese foreign ministry announced on Sunday.

Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic ties in 1973. Japan is Vietnam's biggest development assistance donor and investor.

Vietnam-Japan bilateral trade turnover reached 25.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2013. During the year, Japan invested 5.7 billion U.S. dollars in Vietnam, accounting for 26.6 percent of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, reported Vietnam's state news agency.