Over the past 2 decades, since Da Nang was recognised as a centrally-governed city on 1 January 1997, it has gained numerous remarkable achievements from its activities involving political, economic and cultural diplomacy.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation between Finland's Salo City and Da Nang

During the 1997 - 2003 period, the city’s diplomatic strategies focused on establishing friendship and cooperative ties with foreign localities worldwide.  The city implemented numerous basic infrastructure construction projects which were funded by official development assistance (ODA), non–governmental and international organisations, thereby laying a strong foundation for the city’s progress.

The 2004 - 2017 period marked a progressive step in the city’s diplomatic affairs, especially positive results from political diplomacy.  In particular, bilateral friendships and cooperative ties between the city with foreign countries all over the world were strengthened in a more comprehensive and intensive manner in a bid to effectively live up to the motto ‘Connecting Da Nang with the Rest of the World’.

Every year, the city welcomes over 400 delegations of international guests, many of whom are foreign countries’ leaders, along with royal, ministerial and parliamentary-level delegates.

Furthermore, there have been a wide range of fascinating cultural exchanges, including the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival, the Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival, the South Korea-Viet Nam Cultural Exchange Night, and the 2015 - 2016 Clipper Round the World Race.  Such meaningful events have indeed helped to further the solidarity and friendship between the city and the rest of the world.

Many staff members of the Department of Foreign Affairs (1st row) serving the APEC Week 2017

The past 20 years also saw numerous positive results from economic diplomacy activities in the city.  In addition to its traditional partners, Da Nang has established new bilateral friendship and cooperation with many countries and territories worldwide.

Between 2004 and 2017, the city successfully sought aid from foreign non–governmental organisations (NGOs) with a total committed funding of 1,578 billion VND, and this considerably helped to implement effectively such key local campaigns campaigns as the ‘City of 4 Safe Programmes’, and the ‘5 No's, 3 Yes's’.

Especially, the ‘Building Storm-resistant Houses’ initiative has been chosen to be amongst the 12 global initiatives by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

In order to increase the urban poor’s resilience to the effects of climate change, over recent years, the Da Nang Women’s Union and the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs have jointly appealed for financial aid from the Rockefeller Foundation to assist poor families across the city to build new storm-resistant houses, or to reinforce their existing weak ones.

Notably, the establishment of the Da Nang Representative Office in Japan’s Tokyo has to date appealed for 89 Japanese investors to pour a total of over 483.5 million USD into the city.

The personnel staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs

It is clear that the city’s diplomatic activities have partly helped to ensure the comprehensive success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) 2017 in Da Nang from 6 to 11 November, the culmination of Viet Nam’s year-long hosting of APEC meetings.

AELW 2017 was attended by leaders of the 21 Pacific Rim member economies, official delegates, heads of the world’s largest economic groups, and reporters from international media agencies worldwide.

The great success of the large-scale international event showcased a high level of consensus and solidarity between the city authorities and local residents, as well as helped to convey the message that Da Nang is a young, dynamic, creative city full of special time-honoured traditions.

In an attempt to implement the special APEC Park project, between April and November, the staff members of the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs have become actively engaged in appealing for the APEC member economies to send their impressive works of arts that showcase their distinctive cultures.

The coming years will bring challenges, but also opportunities for Da Nang’s diplomatic missions, and the city is expected to record more achievements and successes thanks to the effective implementation of its diplomatic activities.