Bac Giang steps up efforts to boost international cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – The Bac Giang People's Committee has issued a scheme on promoting international cooperation with foreign localities for the 2021 – 2025 period with a view to mobilising outside resources for its socio-economic growth.

Accordingly, the northern province aims to set up cooperation relations with from 2 to 3 localities from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Laos and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The local districts and city, meanwhile, are set to collaborate with between 2 and 4 suitable foreign localities with advantages in the areas of industrial and urban development, trade, services, technology, high-tech agriculture, and the harvest, preservation, processing and sale of agricultural products.

Bac Giang also prioritises improving the direction of work serving external affairs and the mobilisation of overseas resources, particularly from Vietnamese expatriates, for socio-economic development.

In addition to effectively exploiting cooperative relationships with traditional partners mainly in Northeast and Southeast Asia, the province plans to strengthen mutual understanding and establishes cooperative relationships with those from Americas, Europe, and the Middle East region.

The province will continue to renovate the method of approaching and mobilising resources from the Vietnamese community abroad.

It will focus on developing its relations at all levels with the Vietnamese community abroad, especially Vietnamese entrepreneurs’ associations and other organisations of Vietnamese people in other countries, to attract their resources.

According to Director of the provincial Department of External Relations Ngo Bien Cuong, as the province is located in the northeast of the capital Hanoi and has a geographical and economic location favourable for connecting with domestic and foreign economic centres, Bac Giang plans to, from now to 2030, build about 20 industry-urban-service zones spanning a total area of nearly 6,000ha with modern infrastructure, along with 51 industrial clusters covering more than 2,000 hectares in all of its districts and cities.

Bac Giang, a Red River Delta province situated about 50 km to the east of Hanoi, has a favourable geographical and economic location. Surrounded by major economic hubs, ports, and national highways, Bac Giang is located at the crossroads of major trade routes. It lies adjacent to the Hanoi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh key economic triangle, 110 km from the Huu Nghi Border Gate with China, 100 km from the Hai Phong seaport, and 40 km from Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport.

The locality has favourable weather conditions and is less affected by natural disasters, with stable stratigraphy, fertile land, and beautiful natural landscapes. The province is the fruit capital of the north, ranking third nationwide in terms of fruit farming area. Bac Giang’s Luc Ngan litchi has been exported to many foreign markets such as the US, Japan, China, France, Thailand, and Singapore. Bac Giang is also strong in livestock, poultry breeding, citrus fruit farming and vegetable processing.

Over the years, Bac Giang has enjoyed fruitful results in external relations. In the first six months of this year, the province conducted many important foreign relations events such as sending delegations to work in Singapore and the US, while organising various international events, receiving many foreign guests and organsing the badminton competitions of the 31th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

At the same time, the province has effectively promoted activities to call for foreign non-governmental aid and mobilise resources from the Vietnamese community abroad. It has fostered local-level international cooperation, while strengthening cultural diplomacy and communications.

Last year, Bac Giang signed a cooperation agreement with Xaysomboun province in Laos towards 2025, involving delegation exchanges, experience sharing, agricultural support, health care, education-training, culture-sports and tourism, and investment and construction./.