Receiving and working with the delegation were Governor of Chiba province Kumagai Toshihito and his colleagues; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam in Japan Pham Quang Hieu.

Also attending were Nguyen Viet Oanh, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Division; Nghiem Xuan Huong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Phan The Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Le Huu Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

On behalf of the delegation, Mr. Duong Van Thai gave an overview of the province's socio-economy in recent years with impressive growth results, ranking among the top in the country.

He said that in 2023, Vietnam - Japan had many activities to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations and officially becoming a comprehensive Strategic Partner for peace and prosperity in Asia and around the world. This was an important foundation for Japanese localities and businesses to continue to develop cooperative relationships, including Bac Giang province.

Currently in Bac Giang province there were 27 projects of Japanese enterprises with investment capital of more than 321 million USD. Import-export turnover in 2023 between Bac Giang province and Japan reached 3.1 billion USD. In addition, cultural and educational exchange activities between the province and Japanese partners were regularly organized, creating special sympathy among Bac Giang people for the country, culture and people of Japan.

It was known that Chiba was one of Japan's leading developed provinces with a unique, long-standing culture, diverse economic development to be one of Japan's important gateways to the world. Bac Giang province was supporting AEON Group - a typical Japanese corporation originating from Chiba province to explore investing in a regional trade center in Bac Giang.

Bac Giang province hoped that this visit would establish a good relationship between the two provinces, creating favorable conditions for investors from Japan and Chiba province to learn about the investment, production and business environment in the province.

To gain more knowledge about Bac Giang province, Provincial Party Secretary Duong Van Thai respectfully invited the Governor and the delegation of Chiba province to visit and work in Bac Giang at an appropriate time.

At the meeting, Governor Kumagai Toshihito highly appreciated the goodwill of Bac Giang province when coming to Japan for choosing Chiba province to visit and work, raising the issue of cooperation. The Governor said there were currently thousands of Vietnamese workers in Chiba province (there were 5 international students from Bac Giang province studying here).

Chiba province not only developd strongly in industry, but the agricultural sector also developed very well. In particular, Chiba had strengths in fisheries and the medical field. The Governor hoped that Chiba province's goods would be exported more to Vietnam, including Bac Giang, and hoped that Chiba province's businesses would cooperate in this field.

Referring to AEON Group, the Governor expressed his joy when the Group chose Bac Giang province to research for investment in AEON MALL commercial center. Currently, Bac Giang province was having many support activities, creating conditions for the project to come into reality soon. This would also be a bridge to establish good relationships between the two provinces.