By Lee Jon-young

Hwaseong City Mayor Jung Myung-geun invited Bui Minh Chau, Party Secretary of Vietnam's Phu Tho Province, to hold an international exchange meeting at Hwaseong City Hall on Sept. 11.

The meeting was attended by 14 people, including three Vietnamese businessmen, and discussed ways to revitalize exchange and cooperation between Hwaseong City and Phu Tho Province.

In addition, they agreed to further strengthen the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two local governments, which was temporarily halted by Corona 19, and to expand the fields of exchange beyond culture to include economy, sports, and education.

Phu Tho Provincial Party Secretary Bui Minh Chau promised to "strengthen partnership with Hwaseong City by discovering and promoting practical exchange projects."

In response, Hwaseong Mayor Jung Myung-geun said, "Vietnam is an important country with the third-largest trade volume after China and the United States," adding, "We will strive to make Hwaseong City and Phu Tho Province the center of the development of both countries."

Meanwhile, since signing the Friendship City Agreement with Phu Tho Province in October 2005, the city has been promoting active friendship exchanges in various fields, including businessmen's exchanges to attract investment, youth sports friendship matches, homestay exchanges, cultural festivals, and official dispatch exchanges.