Ho Chi Minh City and the city of Johannesburg in South Africa on Nov. 10 officially became partners after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on partnership.

In the MoU, Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan, and Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo pledged to build a close relationship between the two cities with a view toward promoting mutual understanding and global solidarity as well as socio-cultural connections.

The MoU laid a foundation for both cities to support each other and engage in specific cooperation programmes with the overall objective of facilitating socio-economic development and more effective state management.

Mayor Amos Masondo said he expected both cities would soon draw up cooperation projects and intensify information exchange.

According to the MoU, the two cities will work together to establish a joint work plan that includes concrete projects and initiatives, which will be conducted and supervised by the heads of the two cities.

A trade and investment conference will be organised in Ho Chi Minh City to welcome the official visit to by Mayor Amos Masondo from Nov. 10-12 – the first visit by a ranking delegation from Johannesburg to the southern city. It will be an opportunity for business councils and investors on both sides exchange information and seek partners.


Two-way trade between HCM City and South Africa in the first half of this year reached 250 million USD./.