Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong People’s Committee Hoang Minh Cuong and delegates performed the bell-ringing ceremony marking the opening of the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, one of its most solemn and sacred opening rituals.

As part of the visit, the delegation attended major activities of the 63rd Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival including the Suwon Food Festival 2026, the opening bell-ringing ceremony, the Royal Procession of King Jeongjo, the Media Art Show, and various distinctive cultural and culinary exchange activities. Hoang Minh Cuong personally participated in the opening bell-ringing ceremony alongside international delegates and attended the royal procession and artistic performances held during the festival.

Through these activities, the delegation had the opportunity to learn about and experience Suwon’s distinctive historical and cultural heritage while strengthening exchanges with the city’s authorities, residents, and international delegations. Continued participation in the festival also demonstrated the continuity of friendly exchanges between Hai Phong and Suwon building on the longstanding cooperative relationship between the former Hai Duong Province and Suwon.

Vice Chairman Hoang Minh Cuong and delegates attended activities within the framework of the 63rd Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival.

During meetings with Suwon’s leadership, the Hai Phong delegation expressed its appreciation for the city’s warm and thoughtful hospitality. It also provided an overview of Hai Phong following the administrative merger highlighting changes in its scale, development space, potential, strengths, and development orientations for the new period.

Vice Chairman Hoang Minh Cuong emphasized that Hai Phong valued the legacy of international partnerships established between Hai Phong City and the former Hai Duong Province and wished to further strengthen these relationships including its friendship and cooperation with Suwon. Both sides acknowledged the contributions of successive generations of leaders, organizations, and residents in nurturing, maintaining, and developing these ties.

During a meeting with the Mayor of Suwon, Hoang Minh Cuong briefed the Korean side on Hai Phong’s socio-economic development following the merger, its new development opportunities, and its vision of becoming a modern, civilized, ecological, and livable industrial port city. Hai Phong has identified industrialization and modernization, innovation, digital transformation, the marine economy, services and logistics, high-quality tourism, and clean energy as key development priorities.

Vice Chairman Hoang Minh Cuong and delegates attended activities within the framework of the 63rd Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival.

Building on more than 20 years of friendly cooperation between the former Hai Duong Province and Suwon, the two sides discussed further finalizing the agreement establishing a sister-city relationship between Hai Phong and Suwon building on the sister-city ties established between Hai Duong Province and Suwon on July 13, 2004. This agreement was considered an important foundation for maintaining existing cooperation outcomes while expanding collaboration into areas suited to the development conditions and needs of both localities.

Under the draft agreement, the two sides are expected to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment; science, technology, and digital transformation; culture, sports, and tourism; education and training; people-to-people exchanges; delegation exchanges; and other areas of shared interest and potential.

Hai Phong proposed promoting business connections and supporting enterprises from both localities in exploring trade and investment opportunities while enhancing exchanges of experience in innovation, smart city development, and digital transformation. The two sides also aimed to expand cultural and sporting exchanges, promote tourism, foster cooperation between educational institutions, facilitate exchanges among pupils, students, and young people, and strengthen connections among government agencies, organizations, businesses, and schools.

Vice Chairman Hoang Minh Cuong expressed his hope that both localities would soon complete the necessary procedures to finalize the cooperation agreement establishing a legal framework and a foundation for implementing specific programs. He also expressed his wish to welcome Suwon’s leaders and delegation to Hai Phong for a visit and working sessions at an early date. Such exchanges would allow the two sides to discuss cooperation initiatives in greater depth, identify priority areas, and promote increasingly substantive, extensive, and effective relations. The two localities are expected to work toward signing a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in February 2027.

The Hai Phong delegation visited and held a working session with the Suwon City Council.

During the visit, the Hai Phong delegation also met with the Suwon City Council to discuss ways to build on established friendly relations and strengthen delegation exchanges and interactions among elected bodies, local authorities, and residents of the two localities.

Both sides agreed on the importance of maintaining regular communication channels and creating opportunities for agencies, organizations, and various segments of society to participate more actively in cooperation activities. Alongside cooperation between the two local governments, people-to-people exchanges were reaffirmed as a key foundation for fostering mutual understanding, trust, and closer ties between the people of Hai Phong and Suwon.

The delegation also attended an exchange program with members of the Suwon–Hai Phong People-to-People Exchange Committee and other partners. Discussions focused on maintaining and implementing cultural, educational, sporting, youth, and people-to-people exchange activities, while strengthening connections among organizations, businesses, and other social stakeholders in both localities. The activities of the Suwon–Hai Phong People-to-People Exchange Committee were recognized as a meaningful channel for maintaining friendly relations and supporting the implementation of concrete cooperation programs.

The delegation attended a welcome event and takes a commemorative photo with the Mayor of Suwon and his wife.

The Hai Phong delegation’s visit to Suwon reaffirmed the city’s commitment to preserving and building on international partnerships established before the administrative merger. Through cultural exchanges and meetings with Suwon’s leaders and relevant organizations, both sides gained further opportunities to discuss development orientations identify promising areas for cooperation and advance the establishment of a cooperation framework suited to the new period.

Building on more than two decades of friendship, stronger ties between Hai Phong and Suwon will not only consolidate relations between the two localities but also open up opportunities for cooperation in economic development, science and technology, digital transformation, education, culture, and tourism, with the aim of establishing an increasingly substantive, stable, and effective partnership.