Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (right) and Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane. (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City pledges to work with Japan to deploy cooperation programmes to foster economic, cultural and educational ties and people-to-people exchanges this year, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.
Phong made the statement when meeting with Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane in the city on January 26.
He thanked the Japanese Government and people for providing official development assistance (ODA) to aid Vietnam’s economic development and poverty reduction for many years.
The chairman also hoped Nakane to continue encouraging Japanese localities to strengthen partnerships with HCM City, particularly in implementing cooperation activities marking of the 45th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.
The potential for cooperation between HCM City and Japan remains great, notably in terms of tourism, trade, infrastructure development, climate change response, urban management and people-to-people exchanges, Phong said.
The city will coordinate with Japanese partners to boost ties in all fields as a way to promote cooperation and friendship between the two countries, he added.
Nakane, for his part, said Japan is ready to support Vietnam, including HCM City, in implementing international-standard infrastructure development projects and projects in areas of Japan’s strength.
Japan is willing to share experience with Vietnam in urban management and addressing urban issues like traffic congestion or pollution, he noted, suggesting the two sides focus on stepping up collaboration in transport infrastructure, education, healthcare and exchanges of trainees and nurses.
Japan now ranks sixth among 93 countries and territories investing in HCM City with more than 110 FDI projects, worth about 4 billion USD in total. The country has the fifth largest number of tourist to HCM City and has become one of the city’s key trade partners.-VNA
VNA
