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Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai (L) |
Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai led a delegation to meet Tampere City leaders within the framework of a working visit to Finland.
Head of the Propaganda and Education Board of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Phan Nguyen Nhu Khue and leaders of some committees of the City Party Committee and departments, agencies and districts in Ho Chi Minh City were accompanying Deputy Secretary Hai. Receiving the Vietnamese delegation were Mayor of Tampere City Kalervo Kummola, Deputy Mayor in charge of Growth, Innovation and Competitiveness of Tampere City Ilkka Sasi; and directors of affiliated agencies.
Mayor Kalervo Kummola highly appreciated the visit and working visit to Finland of the Ho Chi Minh City delegation, especially in the context of the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Finland. Previously, in October, Mr. Ilkka Sasi, Deputy Mayor of Tampere City, also visited Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, to further promote cooperation between Tampere and Ho Chi Minh City in the coming time, Mayor Kalervo Kummola proposed that Ho Chi Minh City and Tampere sign a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in potential fields.
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Leaders of Tampere City |
On his part, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai expressed his joy at directly experiencing the harmonious beauty between tradition and modernity of Tampere City. The visit took place on a very meaningful occasion when Vietnam and Finland are going to organize activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai also expressed his admiration for Tampere City - a center of industry, culture, science, technology and innovation in Finland which has been voted as the favorite city by residents, tourists and students in Finland many times.
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Mayor Kalervo Kummola gifts Mr. Hai |
According to Mr. Hai, Ho Chi Minh City and Tampere have many similarities such as young populations with high knowledge and skills, actively contributing to the process of smart and modern urban development, extensive international cooperation, and pioneering role in innovation. He believes that Ho Chi Minh City and Tampere will take stronger steps and measures to turn potential into cooperative projects, bringing practical benefits to the two localities, and paving the way to promote relations between the two countries.
Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai hoped that Mr. Kalervo Kummola, Mayor of Tampere City and his colleagues will continue to strengthen bilateral relations with HCMC by sharing experiences and promoting investment and cooperation in the future. Relevant agencies will study proposals for cooperation between the two localities and later develop specific implementation plans.
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Mr. Hai encourages students at Tampere Adult Education Center |
Regarding this issue, Deputy Mayor Ilkka Sasi also commented that Tampere City and the southern metropolis have great potential for cooperation, based on positive results in trade exchange and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the EU. In particular, Vietnam is currently the only Asian country that has a free trade agreement with the EU.
In addition, Tampere University and Tampere's training facilities are having good cooperative relationships with partners in Ho Chi Minh City; plus, the number of Vietnamese students coming to study in Tampere is increasing. Therefore, this will pave the way for Tampere and Ho Chi Minh City’s strengthened cooperation.
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Members of the Ho Chi Minh City Delegation experience virtual reality technology developed by the Immersive Visual Technology Lab of Tampere University |
At the meeting, members of the Ho Chi Minh City delegation listened to Tampere city leaders’ experience in smart urban development. At the same time, the Vietnamese community in Tampere has about 700 people and it is trending upward as more and more Vietnamese students come to Tampere for pursuing study. This is the youngest and most dynamic expatriate community in Tampere.
The Tampere government highly appreciates the entrepreneurial spirit and awareness of preserving and promoting the national traditions and culture of Vietnamese young people through coordinating the organization of many Vietnamese cultural events in Tampere.
On this occasion, the two sides agreed to promote the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Tampere in the fields of education - training and vocational training including the Finnish language teaching programs in Ho Chi Minh City, cooperation between training institutions of the two sides, construction of smart cities including developing metaverse technology and PPP models in smart urban development, building data warehouses and planning and developing green spaces in urban areas.
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Ho Chi Minh City delegation and Tampere University leaders take a photo |
The delegation also visited Tampere Adult Education Center - a multisectoral vocational educator and working life developer. Mr. Peter Perttula, Director of International Partnerships of the center, said that the center currently has more than 100 Vietnamese students studying in many different majors. Vietnamese students are highly appreciated for their activeness and positive behaviors in learning.
On the same afternoon, the delegation had a working session at Tampere University. While hosting the Vietnamese delegation, Ms. Marja Sutela, Vice Rector in charge of training at Tampere University, said that there are currently more than 20 Vietnamese students studying at the school, mainly in the field of engineering. Ms. Marja Sutela affirmed that Tampere University supports the establishment of friendly and cooperative relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Tampere which will be the basis for strengthening cooperation between Tampere University and other universities, research institutes and businesses in the southern largest city.
Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai highly appreciated the teaching quality of Tampere University hoping that Finland in general and Tampere University in particular would consider giving more scholarships for Vietnamese students.
At the same time, he expected that the University would strengthen cooperation with educational institutions in Ho Chi Minh City by supporting the development of the city's education innovation strategy, sharing experiences in school management, digital transformation in education, and joint training program, student/teacher exchange, research cooperation in biotechnology and health.
