Within the framework of the ongoing business trip to Japan, the 11^th Da Nang Urban Development Forum was held in Yokohama on Monday.

Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh (first, right) presents a souvenir to Mr. Hirotoshi Shiro, Vice Mayor of Yokohama City.

Co-chaired by Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh and Vice Mayor of Yokohama City Hirotoshi Shiro, the forum saw the attendance of more than 130 invited guests who were leaders of businesses and consulting organisations related to environment, technical infrastructure, energy and transportation fields.

In his opening speech delivered at the forum, Vice Mayor Hirotoshi Shiro said since Yokohama and Da Nang signed a Memorandum of Understanding on technical cooperation for sustainable urban development in 2013, the both cities have strengthened the bilateral cooperation to share knowledge and experience in urban development for over a decade.

Through the forum, the two sides discussed some problems related to waste management, water and drainage, energy conservation, port maintenance and urban transport. Also, many surveys and international cooperation projects have been conducted and progressed to the commercialisation stage.

“Yokohama City will continue to boost cooperation on sustainable urban development with Da Nang, and other international organisations and companies in the near future” Mr. Hirotoshi Shiro said.

Speaking at the forum, Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh said that this year’s forum took place in the context that Viet Nam and Japan are celebrating the 50^th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties (September 21).

He hoped that the forum will provide a good opportunity to look back on the Japan-Viet Nam relationship over the past five decades, thereby creating a foundation to developing the relationship in the future.

Japan is one of Viet Nam’s important partners in terms of politics, foreign affairs, economy, culture and people-to-people exchange.

In Da Nang, Japan is always a potential partner in many fields. The city is now home to 215 Japanese enterprises, representative offices and projects with a total investment capital of US$1,041 million. Currently, Japan takes the lead among the city's foreign investors from 40 countries and territories worldwide.

The city has signed memoranda of understanding to establish friendship and cooperation relations with four cities of Japan: Yokohama, Kawasaki, Sakai and Kisarazu. In addition, the city also has set up cooperative relations with 15 other provinces and cities of Japan.

Since the city reopened its door for international visitors in March 2022, Japan has been one of the city’s priority tourist markets. In July 2022, Da Nang successfully hosted the 7^th Viet Nam - Japan Festival after 2 years of suspension due to COVID-19.

The delegation of Da Nang and leaders of Yokohama City pose for a group photo

According to Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh, 10 years ago, Da Nang and Yokohama signed a Memorandum of Understanding on technical cooperation for sustainable development, aiming to promote the long-term bilateral cooperation between the two cities in many fields.

Up to now, the above memorandum of understanding has been extended many times by the two cities in 2016, 2019 and most recently 2022, valid until 2025.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Da Nang and Yokohama have continued to promote long-term cooperation in many fields, especially urban development.

Currently, both cities have successfully organised 10 Da Nang Urban Development Forums. Of this, the event was held 3 times in Yokohama in 2015, 2017 and 2019; 6 times in Da Nang in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019; and one time in the online form due to COVID-19 in 2021.

After nearly 10 years of cooperation, Da Nang has been facilitated to access many technical assistance and consulting programmes from such international organisations as JICA, ADB, WB, IFM. Thanks to this, the city has enjoyed encouraging results from pilot projects on solid waste management, waste recycling, and wastewater treatment.

Besides, thanks to their similar geographical conditions and development orientation, Yokohama has shared with Da Nang its valuable experiences in seaport development and operation, urban planning, and sustainable development.

Moreover, Japanese businesses also find potential investment opportunities in Da Nang.

Recently, Da Nang has implemented support policies for foreign businesses and investment promotion programmes, as well as welcomed enterprises and investors from Japan to seek investment opportunities in the city. It has also carried out many administrative reforms to create an open investment environment for businesses, and shorten procedures for granting work license for foreign workers.

The city is trying harder to meet the needs and create conditions for businesses, including promoting the development of supporting industries, improving urban transport infrastructure, and training high-quality human resources.

Mr. Minh asked for support from Yokohama in introducing more Japanese businesses to visit to learn about the city’s investment climate, thereby contributing to make the cooperation between the two cities more effective and practical.

At the forum, the delegations of the two cities as well as participating investors continued to discuss issues related to urban development challenges; infrastructure investment needs, including eco-industrial parks in the city; some projects promoting waste classification at source; Yokohama city's global warming action plan and initiative; and initiatives from organisations such as JICA.

Reporting by GIA MINH - Translating by M.DUNG