Bringing Nghe An - Japan cooperation to new heights

One of the first people to build the diplomatic bridge between Vietnam and Japan was patriot Phan Boi Chau - an outstanding son of Nghe An; the initiator of the Dong Du movement and considered a cultural ambassador between the two countries of Vietnam and Japan.

The close relationship between Phan Boi Chau and his Japanese friends, especially Dr. Asaba Sakirato, has added to the beauty of patriotism, pure human values ​​and noble love for humanity. It is also a very special highlight, creating a premise and strong inspiration for the development, reaching a new height of friendship and cooperation between the two countries: Vietnam - Japan.

Portrait of patriot Phan Boi Chau and doctor Asaba Sakirato.

Currently, in Fukuroi city, Shizuoka province - where Dr. Asaba lives, not only has a stele of gratitude to the patriot Phan Boi Chau been erected, but the story of the beautiful friendship between the two great friends Asaba - Phan Boi Chau has also been written into a story as a symbol of the Vietnam - Japan relationship.

Mr. Yu Ki Ho Am Ma - President of Asaba Association of Japan commented: Doctor Asaba - Phan Boi Chau is a great, pure and noble friendship. In Japan, learning history through comics is very popular, so we chose to tell the story of their friendship in comics to give to elementary schools, which is very popular with students here. Thereby, educating good values ​​and profound humanity, contributing significantly to promoting the increasingly good friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

Delegates attending the international scientific conference "Patriot Phan Boi Chau - Doctor Asaba Sakitaro and the Vietnam - Japan friendship", on December 15 in Vinh City.

Currently, the relationship between Vietnam and Japan is in a good development phase in the spirit of Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia. The relationship between the two countries is considered to be at its best stage in history since the establishment of diplomatic relations, with high trust. Japan has become Vietnam's leading important economic partner.

Exploiting economic cooperation opportunities, promoting mutual trust and exploiting cultural similarities, thereby promoting increasingly comprehensive cooperation and enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples, meeting the aspirations of the people of the two countries.

In recent times, Nghe An has proactively established relationships and welcomed many delegations from the Japanese Government, organizations and enterprises to learn about and carry out activities in the fields of investment cooperation, trade, tourism, culture, education, health and ODA, FDI and NGO projects and programs.

In 2015, Nghe An province established friendly relations with Gifu province, Japan. The two provinces have actively implemented cooperation activities in the fields of agriculture, tourism, education - training, investment and cultural and sports exchanges with activities such as: high-ranking delegations of both sides visiting each other; Gifu province enterprises visiting and studying the investment environment, promoting tourism in Nghe An.

Nghe An province organizes seminars to promote investment, tourism and trade in Japan. Photo: Archive

Nghe An province organized a seminar on investment, tourism and trade promotion in Gifu province... Vinh city has established a friendly and cooperative relationship with Kasumigaura city, Irabaki province. The two cities also regularly have friendly exchange activities. Every year, the two sides regularly exchange delegations to explore cooperation opportunities in areas where Japan has strengths and Nghe An has needs. From these meetings, a new chapter in the Nghe An - Japan relationship has been opened.

In the field of economic cooperation, Nghe An province has 9 investment projects from Japan with a total capital of 1.078 billion USD in the fields of limestone mining, food, garment, and auto parts. Up to now, Japan has funded 44 ODA projects in Nghe An, with a total investment of up to 6,172.087 billion VND. In 2017, the non-profit organization International Small Vessel Recycle Project (Japan) provided Nghe An with 30 ships of various types to exploit the river/sea economy. Two-way trade is also growing. Nghe An's export turnover to Japan in 2017 reached 24.2 million USD; Import turnover from Japan reached more than 11 million USD.

Japanese experts and businesses survey economic models in Nghe An. Photo: Archive

In particular, the Japanese organization JICA has created highlights in the development of Nghe An agriculture. Currently, the province is implementing 4 projects with a total ODA capital funded by JICA of up to 4,808.3 billion VND, including the projects: Restoring and upgrading the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System; Sustainable restoration of protective forests in Nghe An province; Diversifying livelihoods based on heritage tourism in agricultural and fishing villages; Technical cooperation to support the planning of agricultural development in Nghe An province. In addition, the Project of Building sluices to prevent salinity, retain fresh water, and improve the environment on Lam River is in the process of investment preparation.

For example, in Nam Dan district, along with supporting the building of traditional product brands such as: tapioca starch, turmeric starch (Nam Anh commune), rice vermicelli and Quy Chinh craft village rice paper (Van Dien commune), Hung Hai peanut oil (Xuan Hoa commune); supporting the establishment of a tourist information center at Kim Lien Relic Site;

Preserving and promoting heritage resources (preserving villages, houses, and ancient communal houses) in Nam Trung and Khanh Son communes, Nam Dan district; developing Vi and Giam folk songs into a tourism service, launching the Hung Son Vi and Giam folk song club in Van Dien commune (Nam Dan).

Or, in Pha and Nua villages, Con Cuong district, the guidance on building community tourism and experiential ecological tourism models is also showing very positive results.

In the field of Education and Training, in the past 2 years, Nghe An has had over 800 students studying abroad in Japan, of which 89 students went on scholarships. In addition, Vinh University cooperated with JINNO Academy, Japan to open a Japanese language training center, moving towards establishing a Japanese language department. Every year, Nghe An province has a large number of workers going to work in Japan.

Currently, in the work of attracting investment, Nghe An identifies Japan as a leading, long-term strategic partner. Therefore, the province focuses on calling for Japanese investors to invest in the following areas: clean agriculture; medicinal herbs, coffee, rubber, tea in the direction of intensive farming, improving product quality; attracting projects to build meat processing plants (beef, pork and poultry) and animal feed production plants associated with industry serving livestock farming in the province.

At the same time, the province also focuses on attracting investment in the following areas: high-tech industry; supporting industry (manufacturing of accessories, accessories, components, structures, parts, spare parts, machinery and equipment details... supplying the mechanical assembly industry, electricity - electronics, information technology, automobiles, petrochemical industry, thermal power); mechanical engineering, production of construction materials, cement, high-grade tiles; production of new materials...

Nghe An provincial leaders held an investment promotion conference in Japan on September 19, 2018. Photo: Tran Minh

At the same time, Nghe An also called on Japan to support training for officials and businesses of the province in applying scientific and technological advances in the fields of agriculture, industry, environment, and tourism; and cooperate in training with universities and colleges in the province.

In recent years, more and more Japanese investors have come to Nghe An to research, survey, and explore investment opportunities in both industry and agriculture. On average, each year, about 10 delegations with over 50 Japanese enterprises have come to Nghe An to survey and seek investment opportunities, and learn about the landscape and people of Nghe An. This is a great opportunity for Nghe An to take advantage of capital and technology from Japanese enterprises to create a breakthrough in economic and social development. Many typical products of Nghe An, thanks to the application and construction of product value chains in the way transferred by Japanese enterprises, have had initial success.

In 2018, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - Japan friendship relations, Nghe An province plans to organize the Vietnam - Japan Cultural Week in Vinh city, including activities such as screening of documentaries, exhibitions of paintings, photos, posters introducing the country and people of Japan, displaying documents of the Dong Du movement and the activities of patriotic scholar Phan Boi Chau... thereby creating an important change in the awareness of all levels, sectors and people about the significance of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, thereby creating a driving force to expand and enhance the friendly and cooperative relationship between Nghe An and Japanese partners.

In order to promote the friendly relationship between Nghe An and Japan, these days, a delegation of Nghe An province led by Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh is visiting and working in Japan.

The visit and working session of Nghe An provincial leaders in Japan not only marks the 45-year journey of Vietnam - Japan relations in general, but also brings the Nghe An - Japan friendship into a new stage of development.

Models manufactured using Japanese technology (2 photos above). Manufactured at MLB TENERGY Co., Ltd. Japan. ISVRP organization donated the Hamakaze ship to Nghe An province. Photo courtesy