Vinh City attracts South Korean and Japanese investors.

(Baonghean) - Vinh City is becoming a "magnet" attracting Japanese and Korean investors to Nghe An.

Korean cooperation remains strong.

A prime example of this cooperation is the relationship between Vinh City and Namiagiu City, Gyeonggi Province (South Korea). The two cities officially signed a sister city cooperation agreement on November 15, 2005, covering areas such as economics, culture, education, training, administration, arts, and youth. Since then, the relationship has been maintained, developed, and increasingly strengthened in a practical and effective manner.

Construction of the Namiagiu road, funded by South Korea, is underway in Vinh City.

Over the past 11 years, the governments of the two cities have strived to maintain cooperative relations, promoting information exchange, learning from experience, keeping abreast of current events, and dedicating time to promoting investment activities for economic and social development. The diversity of cooperation areas reflects the efforts of both sides, and the frequent visits and working sessions from the Korean side demonstrate the great interest of the Korean province in Vinh City.

Mr. Nguyen Hoai An, Chairman of the Vinh City People's Committee, said: “Vinh City has organized 20 delegations for visits, work, and experience sharing, including 14 high-level city leadership delegations led by the City Party Secretary, Chairman of the City People's Council, Chairman of the City People's Committee, etc. There are also 5 youth delegations comprising officials and outstanding young people from the city. Namiagiu City has also organized 27 delegations to visit and work in Vinh City, including high-level leaders from Namiagiu City, business delegations, and cultural and artistic delegations.”

Korean restaurant in Vinh

As a country with strengths in arts, culture, and youth, your province is very interested in these areas in Vinh City and has many effective connections within the city. Both sides organize many cultural exchange activities focusing on cuisine, customs, and reading culture. One of the activities that left a lasting impression was the sponsorship by the Vinh Scholarship Association in Namiagiu City and the Rotary Club International, which awarded scholarships to many students at Vinh University, the Vietnam-Korea Industrial Technical College, and underprivileged students in primary schools in Vinh City, totaling US$32,000. They also sponsored cleft palate surgery for children in Nghe An with US$17,600, provided equipment for the physical education teachers at the Vietnam-Korea Industrial Technical College with US$7,800, and donated bicycles in several phases, totaling 448 bicycles worth US$43,500.

In the economic field, cooperation with South Korea is becoming more practical as the Gyeonggi Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry is surveying the third floor of Vinh Market to create a showroom for introducing and selling authentic Korean products. Businesses under the Gyeonggi Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry have also exchanged and purchased products from businesses in Vinh, such as door locks, building materials, and water filters from Hung Phat and Hoa Thuong private enterprises. In the city, there are also quite a few Korean supermarkets and stores owned by Vietnamese people, many of whom are Vietnamese who returned from working in South Korea to invest.

In 2016, Namiagiu City invested in and funded the construction of the Namiagiu Road in Vinh City. The road, with a total investment of nearly 20 billion VND, is currently under active construction.

The neighboring province also hopes to invest in a hotel and will hand it over to Vinh City for management, with the profits used to provide scholarships for students in the city.

Exporting elevator components to South Korea.

New prospects for cooperation with Japan

Vinh City also has a sister city relationship with Kasumigaura City (Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan). Since then, the Japanese side has visited Vinh City many times to survey investment opportunities and has initiated some projects. A prime example is the high-tech electrolytic water plant in Nghi Phu (Vinh City), Phase 1, with an investment of 3.2 billion VND, which has already been accepted by the market in major cities. The company is currently completing the procedures for product registration, bottle design, and labeling. After successful market research, Phase 2, with a larger plant, is planned.

Vinh City and Kasumigaura City (Japan) have signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of a cooperation project to support sustainable agricultural production, the application of high technology in Japanese agriculture, and most recently, a preliminary agreement has been signed on the investment in a biotechnology-based waste treatment plant in Nghi Yen commune (Nghi Loc district) for Vinh City.

Mr. Nguyen Tam Quang, representing the Japanese investors, further explained the project: “In response to the call for investment from Nghe An province and Vinh city, the Japanese side plans to invest in a waste processing plant in Nghi Yen commune, with a total investment of 30 million USD, equivalent to 600 billion VND, and a processing capacity of 300-350 tons per day. The processing technology uses microorganisms and does not require sorting at the source, operating in a vacuum environment. This is a new technology that many countries are currently applying. It is expected that after completing all procedures, the investment will be completed within one year...”

Vinh City is developing rapidly, and investment opportunities remain abundant, especially in the fields of environment, social welfare, and tourism.

Chau Lan