At a reception on August 23 for Governor of Aichi prefecture Hideaki Ohmura, Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Le said HCMC has established strong, friendly, and cooperative relations with seven Japanese localities, with the partnership with Aichi prefecture being one of the most dynamic. Aichi is defined as one of the 12 key localities in countries, which are strategic partners of Vietnam, that HCMC will prioritise for relationship promotion between now and 2025.
She urged Ohmura to back HCMC as a special focus and key partner of Japan in the region and the world, and as a major hub for Japanese human resources training.
Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Le also hoped for the Governor’s support in disseminating the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Resolution 98/2023/QH15, which allows the city to pilot special mechanisms and policies. This would open new opportunities for cooperation between HCM City and Aichi prefecture, as well as with Japan more broadly, in strategic areas such as infrastructure, innovation, biotechnology, automation, new materials, green economy, clean energy, manufacturing and supporting industries.
Ho Chi Minh City seeks to enhance collaboration with Aichi prefecture’s agencies and business community by developing industrial and sci-tech workforce training courses, she said.
The city also aims to promote cultural exchanges among people from all walks of life, especially the younger generations, Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Le said, expressing her hope that the Japanese Government and its partners would select HCMC as a venue for cultural, socio-economic, scientific, educational, and tourism events and exchanges between Vietnam and Japan.
Ohmura noted that Aichi is a leading locality in the number of Vietnamese living, working and studying in Japan, with about 60,000 people, and the number grows by about 5,000 each year. Currently, Aichi is home to the largest number of businesses investing in Vietnam, with over 200 companies, 60 of which are based in HCMC.
Aichi values its close relationship with HCMC and looks forward to further strengthening this partnership in the future, he said.
The Governor suggested further expanding exchange activities and actively joining each other’s cultural, economic, and people-to-people exchange events to raise mutual understanding and strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two localities.
Aichi is keen to receive support from the HCMC's authorities to help Aichi firms explore business opportunities in the city. In return, Aichi is ready to welcome HCMC enterprises, he said.
