Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai said the festival does not only hold significance in cultural exchanges and bilateral cooperation, but also plays an important role in the recovery process in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period.

The festival is a chance to expand cooperation for the business communities of the two countries while further deepening the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership for peace and prosperity of Asia, he added.

Takebe Tsutomu, Special Advisor of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance, said the two countries should look towards to the future and restore economic and cultural exchange activities in order to create momentum for the development in the time ahead.

In its eighth edition, running from February 25-26, the festival features many major events in many fields such as culture, arts, cuisine, trade and tourism./.