Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam–Japan Local Cooperation Forum, themed “Accompanying Comprehensive Development – Shaping a Sustainable Future,” will take place on November 25 in Quang Ninh province.
At a press briefing on November 19, Le Thi Hong Van, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Cultural Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend and deliver an important keynote address.
The forum will also see the participation of leaders from ministries, agencies, Vietnamese ambassadors and consuls general in Japan, leaders and representatives of provincial departments and sectors, as well as major corporations, enterprises and experts.
On the Japanese side, the Prime Minister of Japan will send a congratulatory message. The Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam will attend alongside leaders and representatives from 18 Japanese prefectures, relevant organisations, associations, businesses, and Japanese partners currently operating in Vietnam.
According to Van, the Vietnam–Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is developing at an exceptionally positive pace. Within this broader relationship, cooperation at the local level has received strong support and facilitation from both governments.
Local-to-local cooperation has proven to be a practical and effective channel to advance substantive collaboration across economy, trade, investment, tourism and labour mobility, while strengthening people-to-people bonds.
To date, more than 110 cooperation agreements between Vietnamese and Japanese localities have been signed, forming a solid foundation for deepening the bilateral partnership.
Against this backdrop, the forum will concretise key agreements reached by senior leaders of both countries to further advance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in the field of local cooperation.
The event will establish the first regular dialogue and connection mechanism between localities of the two countries, helping enhance exchanges, share best practices, and promote substantive cooperation that delivers mutual benefits.
Within the forum’s framework, more than 100 networking and working sessions will be held. A Vietnam–Japan Local Exhibition will feature over 40 booths showcasing distinctive local products from both countries, alongside cultural experience spaces, including a Vietnamese tea culture exhibition and displays of Dong Ho folk paintings.
At the press briefing, Fukuhara Teppei, Counsellor of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, highlighted the strong performance of Japanese businesses in Vietnam and expressed his hope that Japan’s recent expansion and diversification of overseas investment will further contribute to the economic development of Vietnamese localities.
He noted that Vietnamese and Japanese localities have signed more than 100 memoranda of cooperation, 80% of which were concluded in 2013. Reviewing past cooperation results and discussing future directions will be essential to matching the strengths and development needs of each locality with investment opportunities.
“With the participation of 15 Japanese localities and 34 Vietnamese localities - an unprecedented number - along with strong presence of Japanese businesses, the forum is expected to further accelerate cooperation between the two countries,” he emphasised.
Representing Quang Ninh province, Ho Van Vinh, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, stressed that this is the first local-level cooperation event between Vietnam and Japan to take place with the presence of top government leaders from both sides. It is also the first time such a large number of Japanese localities will jointly take part in an event in Vietnam.
On the Vietnamese side, this marks the first gathering of all 34 new localities following administrative restructuring. It is also the first time Quang Ninh has co-hosted and organised an international conference of this scale, welcoming nearly 800 delegates./.
