Technical Cooperation

Project Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Sister City Agreement between Kitakyushu and Hai Phong City new!


Vietnam Dispatch of a Business Delegation to Vietnam and Holding of Business Meetings

Apr.7‚ 2025

Tomoharu ASAHARA‚ Hiroshi EMOTO‚ Koji KAWAOKA‚ Senior Technical Expert

Opening Ceremony of Business Meetings


A Courtesy Call to the Department of Science and Technology of Hai Phong City and the ISC
As part of a project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the sister city agreement‚ a business delegation was dispatched to Hai Phong City between October 1 and 5‚ 2024　under the sponsorship of City of Kitakyushu and the co-sponsorship of the Kitakyushu Foreign Trade Association‚ and business meetings were held on October 2. The aims of the business meetings were as follows. (1) To deepen the economic exchanges that have been promoted so far‚ conduct business meetings with Vietnamese companies that could be business partners for Kitakyushu companies aiming to expand their business in Vietnam‚ and strengthen links with Vietnamese support organizations. (2) For Kitakyushu municipal government and KITA to establish mutual cooperation and networks with the ISC (Science-Technology Development and Innovation Center‚ under the jurisdiction of the Department of Science and Technology of Hai Phong City) and Hai Phong local government institutions in providing support for economic exchange projects.


Holding Individual Business Meetings
The 14-person strong delegation was led by Mr. Ono‚ Chairman of the Kitakyushu Foreign Trade Association (President of DHOWA TECHNOS CO.‚ LTD.) Five companies located in Kitakyushu City (ASTEC IRIE CO.‚ Ltd.‚ MATSUSHIMA MEASURE TECH CO.‚ Ltd.‚ DHOWA TECHNOS CO.‚ LTD.‚ KYUSHU MEDICAL CO.‚ LTD.‚ and ATHENA Co.‚ LTD) participated in the delegation‚ as did the International Business Strategy Division of City of Kitakyushu and the Kitakyushu Foreign Trade Association as the secretariat‚ the JETRO Kitakyushu as an observer‚ and KITA as a coordinator.

Thanks to the good offices of the ISC‚ the opening ceremony had 118 participants‚ making it a good start to the business meetings. Prior to the business meetings‚ City of Kitakyushu and KITA had spent a lot of time listening in detail to what the Kitakyushu companies required of the Vietnamese companies. We communicated those requirements to the ISC‚ who made adjustment several times and‚ as a result‚ Vietnamese companies which met the requirements of the Kitakyushu companies were introduced. In addition‚ 3 hours and 30 minutes was set aside on the day of the business meetings for individual business meetings‚ securing sufficient time for fruitful discussions.

24 Vietnamese companies were recommended by the ISC for participation in the individual business meetings with the five Kitakyushu companies‚ including some last-minute participants‚ so there were between three and seven Vietnamese companies for each Kitakyushu company. The day after the business meetings‚ most of the Kitakyushu companies visited the Vietnamese companies with which they had held individual business meetings.

The Kitakyushu Foreign Trade Association hosted a get-together after the October 2 business meetings. The participants included the Director of the ISC‚ the Director and Vice Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Hai Phong City‚ and the Director of the People’s Committee of Haiphong City Department of Foreign Affairs. 25 people in all‚ including those from the Kitakyushu side‚ were able to interact at a deeper level.

In the survey taken after the business meetings‚ all five Kitakyushu companies responded that they would continue to hold business meetings. We anticipate that some of those will lead to contracts going forward.