26 March, Bac Giang Department of Foreign Affairs (DOFA) had a meeting with the delegation of Icheon city, Gyeongi province, Republic of Korea (RoK). Nguyen Hoang Trung, DOFA’s director hosted the meeting. 

View of the meeting

At the meeting, Nguyen Hoang Trung briefed some information of Bac Giang province and investment attraction of Korean enterprises in the province. So far, Bac Giang has attracted 197 RoK’s projects with total registered capital of more than 760 million US dollars. RoK ranks first in terms of project numbers and second in registered capital among countries having projects in the province.

RoK’s enterprises mostly invest in mechanic processing, garment and electronics. Besides, there are some projects invested in services and urban infrastructure. These enterprises have been in stable and effective operation. Taeyang Vietnam, Si Flex and Viet Pan Pacific are good examples. The Korean projects have made dramatic contributions to socio-economic development of the province especially in economic restructuring, employment issue, productivity improvement, technology transfer and exchange of modern management experience.

In addition, Korean government funded construction of Vietnam- Korea Vocational College of Technology with total investment capital of 320 billion dong (16 million USD). After graduating, students of this college are employed at foreign companies with good salary.

Speaking at the meeting, representative of Icheon delegation expressed their hoped to establish cooperative relation with Bac Giang province at local level with a priority on cultural and sport sectors. Bac Giang DOFA will provide Icheon city with information of the districts and city of Bac Giang province to seek opportunities for local ties. 

Nguyen Hoang Trung, DOFA director presents gifts to head of the delegation

The delegates of Icheon city also provided brief information of the city. This is one of 31 cities and districts of Gyeonggi province covering an area of 461.4 square kilometers (taking about 4.5% of Gyeonggi land area) with population of about 220,000. As Icheon is close to Seoul capital, its geographical location and traffic infrastructure are favorable. Besides, this is the sole industrial city producing pottery products in the Rok. Hence, Icheon has developed as an international cultural city with the annual International Ceramics Festival. In addition, this city attracts a large number of domestic and international tourists.

The delegation poses for a photo at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Bac Giang province

Icheon city has established town-twinning relationships with some cities including Jindezhen (Jiangxi, China), Seto (Japan), Gandong and Gangnam (RoK) and Limoges (France).

At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to continue exchanges based on local potentials and strengths enhancing mutual understanding towards initial cooperation in some specific fields.

                                                                                                                                     Ngọc Quyên (dịch)