Last year, many important foreign affairs events were successfully held in Da Nang which helped the city raise its position in the world and open up new opportunities to boost its international integration.

During their working visit to the city in late November 2015, ambassadors from Viet Nam's UNESCO Gastronomy Club remarked that Da Nang has emerged as an attractive and not-to-be-missed destination for foreign visitors, ambassadors and investors.  This positive appreciation was mainly attributed to the city’s modern urban and tourism infrastructure, and its improved investment environment. 

At his meeting with municipal Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Xuan Anh on 18 November, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Mr Milan Stech, said that he was deeply impressed with the harmonious beauty of the local mountains, beaches and the Han River.  He also remarked that he has been impressed by some of the city’s unique architecture, particularly the Rong (Dragon) and Tran Thi Ly bridges. 

Three VIPs at Ba Na

He noted that his country and Da Nang shared many similarities in their tourism, socio-economic and hi-tech industry development strategies, and added that this would help to further strengthen bilateral cooperative ties with the city.

Meanwhile, some visitors from Japan said that they had fallen in love with the city because of its dynamism, and the friendliness and hospitability of local residents.

Mr Lam Quang Minh, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said that last year saw numerous positive results from the city’s foreign affairs activities, especially in political, economic and cultural foreign affairs.

Most notably so in economic foreign affairs, as the city sought a total of over 150 million USD from FDI projects.  Eight Japanese businesses poured as much as 70 billion VND into FDI projects in the city.  Some investors from Japan, South Korea and the USA are showing a keen interest in expanding their existing projects or investing in new ones this year.

Speaking in December at the final session of the People’s Council in its 8^th tenure for the 2011 - 2016 term, municipal People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho emphasised that Da Nang would make its hallmark in 2016 by attracting a total of 350 million USD from FDI projects.  He added that the city hosting the 25^th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in 2017 will provide a golden opportunity for more remarkable and sustainable achievements during the 2015 - 2020 period.