Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association of Nghe An province

Attending the ceremony, on the Japanese side were Mr. Ando Toshiki - Director of the Japan Cultural Exchange Center and members of the delegation; Mr. Bui Khac Son - Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations.

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Thai Thanh Quy - Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Commission, Chairman of the Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations; Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Le Ngoc Hoa - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Hong Ky - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee - Director of the Department of Transport, Chairman of the Provincial Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association.

Delegates attending the ceremony. Photo: Thanh Le

On September 21, 1973, Vietnam and Japan officially established diplomatic relations. Over the past 45 years, the friendly cooperation between the two countries has been continuously strengthened and has developed rapidly in both breadth and depth in many fields.

Delegates attending the ceremony. Photo: Thanh Le

In line with that flow of friendship, over the past decade, the Japan - Vietnam Friendship Association of Nghe An province has played a good role as a bridge for Japanese partners to cooperate with Nghe An. In particular, the Association has established long-term, regular relationships with 11 Japanese organizations and individuals. Through these partners, Nghe An province has received timely and valuable support from Japan in many different fields.

Comrade Nguyen Hong Ky - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Director of the Department of Transport, Chairman of the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association of Nghe An province delivered the opening speech at the ceremony. Photo: Thanh Le

Notably, the Japanese Embassy provided non-refundable funding for two projects: Providing clean water in Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan district and building 4 classrooms at Dai Son 2 Primary School, Do Luong district with a total cost of nearly 4 billion VND. In 2017, the non-profit organization International Small Vessel Recycle Project (Japan) provided Nghe An with 30 ships of various types for seafood exploitation. The Okayama Prefecture Disabled People's Welfare Association sponsored 750 manual wheelchairs.

The association also mobilized members to contribute funds to build the Phan Boi Chau Memorial Site with a value of 400 million VND and 10 manual wheelchairs for the disabled in Nam Dan district. Mr. Nezu Moritaka and Mr. Nezu Tenryo personally donated 60,000 yen to build the Phan Boi Chau Memorial Site and books and teaching aids for students of Nghi Truong Primary School, Nghi Loc district and Hung Hoa Primary School, Vinh city.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa presented a banner to the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association of Nghe An province. Photo: Thanh Le

The Association has also organized many exchanges when delegations from Japan visited Nghe An, contributing to strengthening and consolidating friendly relations with Japanese organizations such as: successfully organizing "Japan Cultural Week" and the Anniversary Ceremony with many rich and practical contents.

Friendship exchange activities between Nghe An people and Japan have taken place quite actively, through studying abroad, tourism, activities of non-governmental organizations, the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association, youth and student exchange programs, etc.

Awarding Certificates of Merit to individuals with many contributions to the development of Vietnam - Japan friendship. Photo: Thanh Le

These people-to-people diplomacy activities of the Association have further strengthened the friendly and cooperative relationship with Japanese partners.

At the ceremony, the Provincial People's Committee presented a banner to the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association of Nghe An province: 10 years of establishment and development (2008-2018); the Provincial People's Committee presented a Certificate of Merit to the collective of the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association of Nghe An province and 2 individuals who have made many contributions to the development of the Vietnam - Japan friendship relationship.