Da Nang and Japan’s Kinokawa City advance cooperation

Vice Chairwoman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Anh Thi on July 9 welcomed a delegation from Japan’s Kinokawa City, led by Mayor Kishimoto Takeshi, noting that the Japanese city had built a productive partnership with the former Quang Nam Province (now part of Da Nang) in recent years.

Such cooperation in cultural exchanges, education, agriculture and community engagement had laid a solid foundation for Da Nang to inherit, strengthen and broaden ties with Kinokawa.

She described the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on promoting friendship and cooperation between the two local governments as an important milestone that would create new opportunities for practical and mutually beneficial collaboration.

She assigned the Da Nang Department of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with relevant agencies from both sides to develop an implementation plan for the MoU and facilitate closer links among government agencies, businesses, educational institutions and organizations to turn the agreement into concrete programmes and projects.

Mayor Kishimoto said Kinokawa remains committed to further strengthening cooperation with Da Nang in the years ahead.

He expressed hope that both cities would expand cooperation in agriculture, tourism, human resource development and other sectors, adding that the newly signed agreement would serve as an important step toward sustainable development for both localities.

On the same day, Nguyen Thi Thu Lan, the Standing Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Da Nang, also met with the Kinokawa delegation to discuss strengthening people-to-people exchanges.

It was reported that Kinokawa and Da Nang has effectively maintained active cooperation over the years through projects such as preserving the ancient Oga lotus and organising student exchange programmes.

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Da Nang plans to visit Japan in the near future.

During this visit, the Da Nang delegation would like to attend meetings with authorities and relevant agencies in this Japanese city to exchange experience in citizen engagement and public consultation mechanisms.

The delegation also expressed interest in visiting a model Jichikai (neighbourhood association) and the Kinokawa Consumer Affairs Center, as well as meeting with local non-profit organizations (NPOs) and local legal associations to learn more about social consultation and human rights protection.

In addition, heed should be paid to expanding people-to-people diplomacy by strengthening exchanges among young people, students, friendship organisations and cultural institutions, while encouraging more Japanese cultural activities such as tea ceremony demonstrations, traditional festivals and performing arts events in Da Nang.

Mayor Kishimoto thanked the city for its warm welcome and reaffirmed Kinokawa's commitment to further strengthening its friendship with Da Nang through the newly signed cooperation agreement, laying the groundwork for broader collaboration in the years ahead.