Attending the 30th Anniversary of HCMC-Busan Friendship and Cooperation Relations
With the goal of leveraging Busan's strengths in smart ports, sustainable logistics, the maritime industry, smart cities, maritime finance, R&D, and digital transformation—complementing HCMC's development needs to become a regional economic-logistics hub, smart city, and high-tech industrial center—the HCMC C4IR delegation visited Busan, South Korea, from August 12-15, 2025. They participated in a series of programs celebrating the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship between the two cities (1995-2025).
HCMC C4IR concluded a successful visit featuring many prominent activities, such as attending the 30th Anniversary Ceremony of HCMC-Busan Friendship and Cooperation Relations; the opening ceremony of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Busan; and the HCMC-Busan Business Forum. Concurrently, it successfully organized the HCMC-Busan Business Meet, a key milestone in promoting industrial, smart manufacturing, and logistics cooperation between the two localities.
Specifically, on the morning of August 13, 2025, the 30th Anniversary Ceremony of Friendship and Cooperation Relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Busan City (South Korea) took place at the Lotte Hotel Busan. The ceremony was attended by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam's Central Committee, To Lam, and his spouse, along with a high-level delegation, HCMC leaders, delegates, businesses, and overseas Vietnamese. From the South Korean side, attendees included Mr. Park Heong Joon, Mayor of Busan City, and other Korean dignitaries and businesses. The HCMC C4IR delegation included Mr. Le Truong Duy, Director of the Centre, and Mr. Pham Phu Truong, Deputy Director.
Speaking at the ceremony, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that this is the result of over 30 years of Vietnam-South Korea cooperation, which has been elevated within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The event is a vivid testament to the depth of the relationship between the two nations, and he emphasized the indispensable role of local-level cooperation within the broader framework of substantive cooperation.
Representing the leaders and people of HCMC, Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen stated that the city is focusing on creating a regional and international-caliber center for economics, finance, services, trade, logistics, high-tech industry, and maritime tourism. Meanwhile, Busan—South Korea's and Northeast Asia's leading port city—is a modern hub for logistics, shipbuilding, and maritime industries, as well as a city of knowledge, innovation, and culture.
Organizing the HCMC-Busan Business Meet
Continuing the series of programs in Busan, HCMC C4IR successfully organized the HCMC-Busan Business Meet on August 14, 2025. The event was attended by government leaders from both cities, diplomatic representatives, trade promotion organizations, and nearly 200 businesses from both countries. On the Vietnamese and HCMC side, the delegation was led by Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee; Ambassador Vu Ho, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to South Korea; and Ms. Doan Phuong Lan, Consul General of Vietnam in Busan, South Korea. Representing Busan was Mr. Seong Heui-Yeob, Vice Mayor for Future Innovation. HCMC C4IR was represented by Mr. Le Truong Duy, Director, and Mr. Pham Phu Truong, Deputy Director, who attended and spoke along with other leaders from departments, agencies, and research institutes.
Leaders from HCMC, Busan, and the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea affirmed the importance of cooperation between the two localities, emphasizing that businesses are the vanguard force and the driving engine for promoting and expanding strategic cooperation in industry, manufacturing, and logistics. At the event, Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha expressed his hope: “Through today's Business Meet, new cooperation frameworks will be formed, creating new value chains, promoting technology transfer, and spreading benefits beyond our local borders.”
Both sides agreed to promote two-way investment. In the context of globalization, this sister-city relationship also serves as an "extended arm" of local-level foreign policy, contributing to the effective and flexible expansion of international cooperation networks. For HCMC and Busan, this relationship is not just symbolic; it has become a crucial foundation for promoting substantive cooperation projects. Both cities are pursuing modern development orientations with many strategic complementarities. HCMC is accelerating digital transformation, smart manufacturing, and sustainable logistics; meanwhile, Busan has strengths in smart port operations, maritime technology, integrated urban governance, and innovation. Busan can share its proven models for smart ports, integrated data-driven urbanism, and sustainability initiatives. Conversely, HCMC offers a dynamic market with high demand for technology, logistics, and a high-quality workforce—ideal for integration into Busan's expanded supply chains and cooperation networks in Southeast Asia.
The visit concluded successfully with the signing of several agreements, including: A Letter of Intent (LOI) between HCMC C4IR and Korea C4IR to promote industrial transformation and smart manufacturing. An agreement between SoiHub Open Innovation Center, HCMC C4IR, the Innopolis Foundation, and G-Group Technology Corporation, with the goal of promoting research and development (R&D), technology transfer, and commercialization. Additionally, other agreements between businesses from both sides were signed, spanning industrial park development, urban development, services, biomedical technology, and green logistics.
Viet Nam C4IR