VIETRADE - We know that Kyushu is one of four main islands of Japan, located in the South West of Japan with a temperate climate, a 15 million population, 42,165 km2 in area. Kyushu is one of the nine regions of Japan, including Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa.

The memorandum dated 25 February 2009 on the promotion of economic cooperation between Vietnam and Kyushu was signed between the Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Kyushu International Economic Agency and has created a new turning-point to enhance cooperation and investment between Vietnam and Kyushu.

In addition, a number of Vietnam’s cities and provinces such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Long An also have specific activities to promote exchange and cooperation relations between Vietnam and Kyushu. In February 2008, Fukuoka and Hanoi signed a cooperation agreement on promoting economic, business and tourist exchanges. In April 2009, on the occasion of General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s visit, the Vietnamese General Consulate in Fukuoka initiated the consolidation of relations between the prefecture and Vietnam’s localities as well as between the two countries.

In October 2009, accepting the invitation from Fukuoka prefecture’s Governor Wataru Aso, Hanoi People's Committee Chairman Nguyen The Thao led a high-ranking delegation to visit and work in Fukuoka. The mission had many activities, opened new cooperation in various fields. On this occasion, “the Hanoi Days” in Fukuoka officially opened with the attendance of thousands of visitors, delegates, businessmen… The Festival has been very successful, it has left unforgettable impressions and feelings and promised opportunities for future exchanges in culture, education, tourism and trade between the two cities.

The Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee also cooperated with Fukuoka prefecture of Japan to hold the Fukuoka Cultural Days in Hanoi from August 10th to 13th 2011. The event aims to boost friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan and celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Leaders of Haiphong city and Kitakyushu city have signed an agreement of friendship and cooperation on 17 April 2009. This was an important event for the relationship between the two cities in accordance with Vietnam’s common external policy in respecting and promoting the strategic relationship with Japanese partners. Based on this cooperation framework, the two localities have developed a five-year-cooperation-plan from 2009 to 2013, focusing on human resource development, sea-ports, economy, environment, urban planning and cultural exchanges. Many activities have been launched, which have led to many practical results.

In order to promote investment cooperation, trade and cultural tourism between Vietnam and Japan, many associations between Vietnam and Kyushu have been established such as the Association of Kitakyushu – Vietnam, Association of Nagasaki - Vietnam, Vietnam Kyushu Friendship Association. These organizations target to support enterprises from the Kyushu region who want to invest in Vietnam to promote economic cooperation, technical and cultural exchanges between Kyushu and Vietnam and thus, contribute to consolidating peace and prosperity in Asia. The Vietnamese General Consulate in Fukuoka has actively cooperated with the above associations in order to boost comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Kyushu.

Until now, many delegations including authorities and businessmen from Kyushu have visited and worked with Vietnamese agencies and enterprises to explore the country’s business environment, look for investment opportunities and promote trade between the two regions. These delegations visited and worked with the Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Science and Technology as well as some provinces and major cities of Vietnam, and certainly with VIETRADE. Located close to Southeast Asian countries, a lot of Kyushu firms have been working with Vietnam. Many Kitakyushu enterprises are investing in Vietnam in many fields such as electrical and electronic goods, information technology, steel, freight forwarding, and banking.

Enterprises from Kyushu pay a lot attention to Vietnam’s main export commodities, investment potential as well as trade-promotion-related information. This is quite appropriate with guidelines of the Vietnamese Government to support enterprises to promote production and exports.

On 10^th October 2009, the direct air route from Fukuoka - Hanoi was opened, with 2 flights a week. The direct route helps to cut travel time to 4 hours and passengers no longer have to transit in Ho Chi Minh City. With the route Ho Chi Minh -  Fukuoka opened in 1992, this new route has facilitated exchanges of trade, investment and tourism between Vietnam and Kyushu.