Ho Chi Minh City deepens ties with South Korean, Japanese partners

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council, a delegation led by Vo Van Minh, deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee and chairman of the council, conducted official visits and working sessions with local governments and strategic partners in South Korea and Japan from November 24 to 29.

The trip followed the July 1 merger of Ho Chi Minh City with the former provinces of Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau to form the new expanded metropolis.

In South Korea, the delegation, joined by representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy, visited Daejeon City, where Minh held talks with Mayor Lee Jang Woo and met with City Council Chairman Cho Won Hwui.

Both sides signed a working memorandum, reaffirming earlier cooperation achievements and agreeing to strengthen friendship and collaboration between Daejeon and the newly expanded Ho Chi Minh City.

They also agreed to study an appropriate timeline for upgrading bilateral ties.

Minh conveyed greetings and a letter from Nguyen Van Duoc, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, to the Daejeon mayor.

The delegation also worked with the Korea Innovation Foundation to exchange experience in developing science and technology parks for possible application in Ho Chi Minh City.

Site visits included the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and meetings with leaders of the Daewoo E&C Corporation.

In Japan, the delegation worked in Yamaguchi Prefecture, holding talks with Governor Muraoka Tsugumasa and Prefectural Assembly Chairman Yanai Shungaku.

The two sides signed a memorandum pledging continued cooperation in policy research, local council operations, and development models, with a future plan to upgrade their partnership.

In Tokyo, the delegation paid courtesy calls on Sasaki Hajime, Japanese Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; and Suzuki Keisuke, Japanese parliamentarian, chairman of the Committee for Financial Affairs of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and former Minister of Justice.

The group held working sessions with Tokyu Group, a major Japanese corporation known for railway development and transit-oriented development.

Tokyu has invested heavily in the former Binh Duong New City since 2012.

The delegation also visited Yamaguchi University and met with Vietnamese postgraduate students there.

At the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu praised Ho Chi Minh City’s pioneering role in fostering local-level cooperation with Japan and said post-restructuring cooperation potential remains substantial.

South Korea’s Daejeon and Vietnam’s former Binh Duong Province established ties in 2005, marking 20 years of relations in 2025.

Often dubbed South Korea’s ‘Silicon Valley,’ Daejeon is a national hub for science, technology, and innovation.

Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and the former Binh Duong began cooperation in 2014.

Yamaguchi hosts major Japanese corporations such as Hitachi and Mazda, along with high-speed rail manufacturing industries.