Hokkaido Festival Brings Japan Closer to Vietnam

An art performance at the festival. Photo: VNA

The three-day, which kicked off in Quang Ninh on November 17 evening, is to implement the exchange and cooperation agreement between Quang Ninh and Hokkaido on the organization of the Hokkaido Festival in Ha Long City, VietnamPlus reported.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Cao Tuong Huy, acting Chairman of the Quang Ninh People’s Committee, highlighted the festival’s significance, saying that it reflects the solidarity and friendship between the two localities. It is to enhance the understanding and trust of the people of Quang Ninh and Hokkaido and offers opportunities for cooperation, contributing to promoting and deepening the Vietnam-Japan intensive strategic partnership.

Suzuki Naomichi, Hokkaido Governor, stressed that the Japanese prefecture has set up exchange and cooperation ties with Vietnamese partners in various areas, such as agriculture, fisheries, the environment, and information technology. He hoped for more Vietnamese people to pay their heed to Hokkaido via the event, and to travel to Hokkaido for tourism, study, and work.

He expressed his wish that the relations between the two countries in general and the two localities, in particular, will gain big achievements.

An art performance at the festival. Photo: VNA

Themed “Quang Ninh- Hokkaido: Rich Cultural Integration”, the festival has attracted thousands of local people and visitors. It covers diverse activities such as a Quang Ninh - Japan investment promotion conference, an exhibition of Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine, street art performances, a workshop on cultural - tourism ties and human resources development, and a launch of the Japanese culture and language center at Ha Long University.

Earlier, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky and Governor of Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture Suzuki Naomichi held talks and signed a cooperation agreement between the two localities, in the northeastern province's Ha Long on November 16, Nhan dan (People) newspaper said.

The activity was held on the occasion of the Hokkaido delegation attending the Hokkaido Festival 2023 in Ha Long and activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties in Quang Ninh. It was also the first official exchange among leaders, local representatives, and businesses of the two provinces.

Ky said Quang Ninh has consistently consolidated and developed cooperative and friendly relations with Japanese investors, partners, and localities; paid special attention to and actively contributed to traditional cooperation between the two countries.

Quang Ninh expects and stays ready to work with Hokkaido to effectively concretize the agreements and common perceptions reached by the two countries’ leaders, he said, adding that the two localities should actively seize new opportunities to enhance collaboration in culture, tourism, education, and training while exploring potential cooperation areas such as modern integrated services, manufacturing and processing, advanced and smart technology, marine economy, logistics, seaports, and port services, eco-agriculture, digital transformation, green transformation, climate change response, food, and water security.

Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky and Governor of Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture Suzuki Naomichi signed a cooperation agreement between the two localities.

Suzuki, for his part, highlighted closer ties between Vietnam and Hokkaido in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture, environment, and information technology. Hokkaido and numerous Vietnamese ministries and agencies already signed multiple cooperation agreements to boost economic exchange and tourism. He said the organization of the Vietnam festivals in Hokkaido has played a significant role in the extensive and effective development of the Vietnam-Hokkaido relationship, thus making important contributions to raising mutual understanding and trust between the two nations.

Currently, Japan is a strategic investor of Quang Ninh with a total of 12 projects valued at over US$2.3 billion, ranking third among partner countries. In terms of trade, Japan is the second largest importer of Quang Ninh./.

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