Senior customs officials of Japan and Vietnam gathered in Hanoi recently to work out measures to further boost their co-operation, according to the General Customs Department.

At a working session, the Japanese customs delegation, headed by Masakazu Sakaguchi, Deputy Director General of the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau, pledged to provide Vietnam with state-of-the-art customs equipment, give technical assistance, training, and finance projects aimed at modernising the country's customs system.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese customs officials committed themselves to creating favourable conditions for their Japanese colleagues to visit and conduct surveys on customs service at major border gates in northern port city of Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Japanese senior customs official stressed that Vietnam, located at the gate way to Asia and a new member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is a target of Japan in its "Asian window" programme.

Sakaguchi said he expected that Vietnamese customs sector will continue to participating in multi-co-operation programmes for the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

The two sides also expressed their hope that the customs services of Vietnam and Japan would sign an official co-operation agreement in the near future, paving the way for the long-term and sustainable bilateral co-operation. (VNA)