Dialogue helps connect Ho Chi Minh City to the world
VOV.VN - The 2022 Ho Chi Minh City friendship dialogue, the first of its kind which is getting underway on December 3-4 is expected to foster cooperation between the Vietnamese city and other localities across the globe in the following years.
Mayor Phan Van Mai was speaking at the opening ceremony of the dialogue themed “Resilient adaptation for recovery and development”.
He said HCM City, the most populous and largest economic hub in Vietnam, and other localities globally have developed relations across various fields, such as economics, culture, health care, science - technology, urban management, human resource training, environment, and digital transformation.
The development of these ties truly reflects the dynamism of each locality, and at the same time highlights decentralized cooperation in a bid to respond to sustainable development challenges amid a period of volatility, uncertainty and complexity in the world, Mai noted.
Addressing the event, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son spoke highly of HCM City’s initiative to host the first such dialogue that demonstrates the city’s creativity in promoting international cooperation.
The Minister expressed hope that international localities and HCM City would continue to strongly strengthen cooperation in all fields, making positive contributions to the development and prosperity of each country.
Vietnam is willing to strengthen economic-trade-investment ties with partners, especially after three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the global economic recovery is opening new cooperation opportunities for all, including HCM City and localities globally, said the diplomat.
John Martin Cruz Nieto, vice mayor of Manila in the Philippines, said there remains a lot of potential for cooperation among localities and it would help to improve people’s daily lives.
Takebe Tsutomu, special advisor to the Japan - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance (JVFPA), expressed hope that the dialogue would be upgraded to an international friendship forum that creates a driving force for further development whilst boosting regional peace and friendship.
Delegates also agreed to hold further exchange activities in the near future to boost mutual understanding and seek greater cooperation opportunities.
The friendship dialogue attracted representatives of 24 localities from 12 countries and territories throughout the globe.
It primarily aims to enhance relations between HCM City and localities worldwide, especially key localities of foreign countries which are Vietnam’s comprehensive strategic partners.