A two-day event marking the 20th anniversary of friendship and cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Osaka kicked off on Thursday in the Japanese city.
The “Ho Chi Minh City Days in Osaka,” running from April 13 and 14, was also held in celebration of the ten-year relations between the Vietnamese city and the Japanese prefecture of Osaka.
Dinh La Thang, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, and the municipal deputy chairman Le Thanh Liem attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the event on Thursday, as part of their ten-day visit to the East Asian country.
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Japan and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture.
The two-day event will see numerous art and cultural activities, featuring the traditional music, circus, fashion, martial arts and handicrafts of the Vietnamese city.
Exhibitions highlighting the two cities’ foreign relations, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges are also held during the event.
On Thursday night, a concert performed by 40 artists flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Osaka also took place as one of the highlights of the event.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Liem said the Ho Chi Minh City-Osaka relations are the mutual bright signs in the relations between Vietnam and Japan.
The Ho Chi Minh City deputy chairman expressed his hope that the event will introduce new images and experiences of the Vietnamese city’s economy, culture and arts to Osaka residents.
Liem underlined that secretary Thang has chosen Osaka as his first oversea destination to visit in 2017, and the Japanese city is also the first place where the Vietnamese city holds the Ho Chi Minh City Days this year.
In response, Wada Aya, director of foreign relations of Osaka, hailed the cooperation activities between the two cities as practical and comprehensive.
Wada said the “Ho Chi Minh City Days in Osaka” event has attracted a number of Osaka visitors as it showcases the most typical characteristics of the Vietnamese metropolis.
Ho Chi Minh City Party chief Dinh La Thang (R) gives a rice painting to Osaka Prefecture Governor Ichiro Matsui and Osaka City Mayor Hirofumi Yosimura.
Source tuoitrenews.vn
