Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend an expanded summit of the Group of Seven (G7) in Japan from Friday to Sunday at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday.

The G7 is an organization of seven of the world’s most advanced countries, including the U.S., the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada.

This year, Japan assumes the rotating presidency of the G7 and will host the G7 summit as well as its expanded sessions in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The expanded sessions are set to pass a Hiroshima action program on global self-sufficient food security.

PM Chinh will attend these expanded discussions featuring three main topics, including establishing cooperation to cope with multiple crises and making joint efforts for a sustainable planet and a world of peace, stability, and prosperity.

In addition, the Vietnamese government chief will meet with leaders of other nations on the sidelines of the events.

He will also meet the Vietnamese community in Japan and attend a business forum, among others.

This is the third time for Vietnam to take part in an expanded G7 summit. The country first attended an expanded G7 summit in 2016 when Japan served as the G7 chair.

The invitation of Japan to Vietnam paved the way for Canada to invite the Southeast Asian nation to attend the 2018 G7 summit in Canada.

On March 20 this year, Prime Minister of Japan Kishida revealed that he wanted to invite the leaders of eight countries to Hiroshima.

These countries, namely Vietnam, Australia, Brazil, Comoros, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, India, and South Korea, are not G7 members, but they are among important partners with whom Japan seeks to further strengthen ties.

Of the list, Vietnam and Indonesia are the two ASEAN state members to be invited to the event.

Japan is ramping up efforts to become the fifth comprehensive strategic partner of ASEAN. Both sides are also making preparations to celebrate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-25 tenure and plays a crucial role in ASEAN.

Vietnam and Japan are celebrating 50 years of their diplomatic relations.

The fact that Japan invited Vietnam to the expanded G7 summit demonstrated the G7 chair’s and the grouping's respect toward the position and role of Vietnam in ASEAN.

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