The central Russian city of Yaroslav, one of the three cities hosting the just-concluded “Vietnamese Cultural Days” in Russia, has maintained a close relationship with Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang over the past 25 years.

The bond was started with a visit to Da Nang of a Yaroslav delegation in 1989, the time when Vietnam just began its door-opening policy. Immediately after the visit, a joint venture named Xovitcom was established between the two sides.

In July 1999, a delegation of Da Nang People’s Council visited Yaroslav, during which the two cities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) lining out directions for their cooperation.
In the following years, the two sides exchanged many delegations at different levels.

In particular, several important bilateral economic agreements were signed during a visit in 2002 by the then Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Council Hoang Tuan Anh, who is now Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Russian agencies saw the ties between Da Nang and Yaroslav as a model for cooperation between the two countries’ localities.-VNA