Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, and Governor of Nara Prefecture (Japan), Mr. Yamashita Makoto, exchanged a memorandum of understanding on organizing the 14th East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress. Photo: Provided by the Provincial People's Committee Office

Accordingly, within the framework of the official visit of Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man to Japan, a delegation from Thua Thien Hue Province, led by Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Phuong, has coordinated with the government of Nara Prefecture (Japan) to carry out a number of exchange and cooperation activities aimed at strengthening the friendly relationship between the two localities in the coming time.

In the presence of the National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and senior leaders of the two countries, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong and Mr. Yamashita Makoto, Governor of Nara Prefecture, have exchanged a memorandum of understanding between the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province and the Nara Prefectural Government regarding the organization of the 14th East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress in Thua Thien Hue Province in 2025.

The East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress was first held in Nara Prefecture in 2010, on the occasion of the 1300th anniversary of the Heijo - kyo Nara Capital. Its purpose was to create a forum for local and regional governments to discuss common challenges faced by the community, exchange policy measures, and enhance mutual understanding through open discussions and find solutions to problems.

Thua Thien Hue has been an active member of this congress framework since its inception. The proposals and presentations made by Thua Thien Hue at each congress have been effective and highly evaluated by members.

It is expected that in June 2025, the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province and the Nara Prefectural Government will jointly organize the 14th Conference in Hue City, to discuss issues related to sustainable tourism and smart cities in the East Asia region.

Congratulating the Governor of Nara Prefecture on signing the cooperation agreement with Thua Thien Hue Province, which coincides with the recognition of it as one of the six centrally-run cities of Vietnam under the name of Hue City, the National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that the agreement will create opportunities for the two localities to exchange and learn from each other’s experiences in socio-economic development, as well as other fields.

 Chairman Nguyen Van Phuong worked with Governor of Nara Prefecture Yamashita Makoto. Photo: Provided by the Provincial People's Committee Office

The National Assembly Chairman supported and welcomed the two localities' coordination in organizing the 14th East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress, considering this a meaningful activity in deepening the cooperative relationship among participating localities, for peace and prosperity in the East Asia region.

The National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also highly appreciated the signing of the cooperation agreement between Thua Thien Hue Province (which will become Hue City, a centrally-run municipality, from January 1, 2025) and Nara Prefecture. At the same time, he supported the contents that the two sides will implement cooperation in the fields of human resource development, employment, investment, and trade, etc., in the coming time.

For Thua Thien Hue Province, the National Assembly Chairman directed that the province coordinate closely with Nara Prefectural Government, focusing intensively on exploiting the advantages of both localities in terms of heritages and conservation for tourism development.

On this occasion, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong and Mr. Yamashita Makoto had a working session to implement cooperative activities between the two localities in the coming time.

At the working session, the Governor of Nara Prefecture congratulated Thua Thien Hue Province on the National Assembly of Vietnam's approval of the resolution to establish Hue City as a centrally-run municipality. This is a significant political event, recognizing the province's achievements in the previous time and will also serve as a motivation, creating a breakthrough in the development of centrally-run Hue City in the coming time.

Chairman Nguyen Van Phuong expressed his desire to expand friendly cooperative relations with Nara Prefecture in many fields. At the same time, he hopes that the memorandum of understanding will be an important foundation for the two sides to cooperate in areas of mutual interest such as human resource exchange, labor, employment, culture, tourism, investment, trade, and people-to-people exchanges, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong affirmed that Thua Thien Hue Province (and later Hue City) will continue to actively support the model of the East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress initiated by Nara Prefecture; closely cooperate with Nara Prefectural Government, as the Secretariat of the congress, to promptly complete relevant procedures and successfully organize the 14th Congress in Thua Thien Hue Province in 2025.

 Chairman Nguyen Van Phuong (on the right) presented a souvenir to Governor of Nara Prefecture (Japan) Yamashita Makoto. Photo: Provided by the Provincial People's Committee Office

Within the framework of the official visit of Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man to Japan, on the morning of December 5, the delegation of Thua Thien Hue Province also had a working session with the leaders of AeonMall Group at the group's headquarters.

Providing an update on the operations of AEON Mall Hue, Mr. Nakagawa Tetsuyuki, General Director of AEON Mall Vietnam, revealed that in the first 76 days, the mall welcomed 2.1 million visitors, and is expected to welcome more than 8 million visitors after 12 months.

Mr. Van Phuong has welcomed Aeon Mall's investment in Thua Thien Hue Province. The project has contributed to promoting the socio-economic development of the locality and improving the urban landscape of Hue City. Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee expressed his hope that the Aeon Group will continue to expand its investment in centrally-run Hue City...

By L.THO