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Nov 10, 2023 / 15:06

Hanoi and local governments in Japan step up cooperation

The visit of a delegation from Hanoi is part of a series of events to implement the capital's foreign policy action plan for 2023.

A high-level delegation from Hanoi, led by Nguyen Thi Tuyen, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, made a working visit to Japan from November 7 to 16.

Nguyen Thi Tuyen, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, at a meeting with Japanese local officials. Photos: The Hanoi Times

In Tokyo, the delegation had a meeting with the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP). Ito Tatsuya, Head of the International Department and Member of the House of Representatives, highly appreciated the importance of the delegation's visit, which contributed to reaffirming the solidarity and unity between the Party, Government and people of Vietnam and Japan.

The two sides discussed and exchanged experiences on building and developing the Party's organizational system, propaganda mechanisms and mobilization of young Party members.

Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Hanoi, expressed her wish that the leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan will continue to promote exchanges between delegations at all levels of the two parties to share information and experience in Party building and development, and strengthen decentralized cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, especially among the younger generations of the two countries.

The city delegation also met with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) to gain insights into the policies and practical implementation of Japan's high-tech agricultural development.

 Hanoi delegation had a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan

Mizuno Masayoshi, Director General of the Export and International Affairs Bureau of MAFF, and his colleagues briefed the guests from Hanoi on Japan's policies to encourage and develop research, technology transfer and application in agricultural cultivation, production, processing and marketing; digital transformation policies to build smart and green agriculture; development of robots and automation machinery; and management of agricultural data through digitization.

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is planning projects in ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, to achieve the goals of the "ASEAN-Japan MIDORI Cooperation Plan", which was adopted at the ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry in October 2023. The plan aims to enhance cooperation and support the transfer of Japanese technology to ASEAN countries to build sustainable agriculture and food systems.

The two sides also exchanged views on various topics, including the cooperative agricultural management model in local communities in Japan, its agricultural business models, government and local policies to help farmers, the role of the state in food safety management, and the application of e-commerce in agricultural trade.

Tuyen expressed her admiration for the development of Japanese agriculture, which is leading in applying scientific and technological advances to increase crop and livestock productivity and improve the quality of agricultural products. She highlighted Japan's position in the global agricultural market.

To open up new cooperation opportunities between Hanoi and Japan in the field of agriculture, Tuyen called on the Vietnamese Government and the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to support research activities and enhance training programs for experts, technical interns, agricultural technicians, and industry managers with Vietnam, including Hanoi.

She also urged promoting the transfer of advanced technology in agricultural production, processing and agricultural machinery, and facilitating exchanges between the two enterprises to expand market access for agricultural products.

During the working visit to Tokyo, the Hanoi delegation also visited the Kanagawa Prefectural Government to discuss ways to promote cooperation between the two localities.

Yuji Kurowa, Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, expressed his pleasure in welcoming the Hanoi delegation and reaffirmed the desire to maintain regular exchange activities between the two sides.

 The Hanoi delegation visits the Kanagawa Prefectural Government.

Inheriting and promoting the good tradition of Vietnam-Japan relations, Hanoi and Kanagawa Prefecture have recently built a solid foundation of friendly ties through close coordination in exchange activities and cultural and artistic exchanges. The highlight of these activities was the successful organization of the "Kanagawa Festival in Hanoi" in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

The leaders of the two localities agreed to strengthen the potential cooperation between them, focusing on promoting collaboration in Kanagawa's advantages, such as trade, tourism, services, electronics, and biotechnology.

On behalf of the Hanoi leadership, Tuyen welcomed the upcoming visit of the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture to the Vietnamese capital to attend the opening ceremony of the "Kanagawa Festival in Hanoi" from November 17-19. This event holds special significance for cooperation between the two countries on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

In Kanagawa Prefecture, the delegation conducted a field survey of the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Fujisawa SST) model. The urban area, which started operations in 2014 with an investment of 60 billion Japanese yen, has more than 1,000 apartments sold out and occupied. This is an exemplary model for public-private partnership projects, with Panasonic Corporation as the lead investor and the Fujisawa city government and 18 related Japanese companies participating in the planning, urban development, and management of the town's development.

 Hanoi's delegation and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan.

At the meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, Tuyen highly appreciated the efforts of the embassy staff in organizing activities and meaningful events that contribute to strengthening the friendly cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

She hoped that the embassy would pay attention to promoting stronger cooperation between the localities of the two countries and serve as a bridge and link for Japanese enterprises to expand their investment and production in Hanoi.