At the reception, Vice Chairman Nguyen Thuc Hien sent his gratitude to Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre and his delegation for attending the Fair and Exhibition “Can Tho City - 20 years of achievements and development”, taking place from November 2 to 6 in Can Tho City.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Thuc Hien said Vietnam and the Philippines has a strong bilateral relationship for 47 years. On that foundation, he encourages Philippine businesses to further invest in potential fields, including agro-aquatic product processing and environmentally friendly projects in industrial parks, as well as stepping up cooperation in organic agricultural production and high-tech agriculture.

Furthermore, Vice Chairman Nguyen Thuc Hien proposed Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre introduce the city’s potential and investment opportunities to associations and investors in the Philippines, and provide information about the Philippines’s market, advantages, trade barriers, investment orientations, trade customs, and culture so that Can Tho can have a foundation to intensify promotion activities.

The representative of Can Tho leaders requested the Philippines to support the provision of English teaching assistants; provide post-graduate scholarships or English training for officials and lecturers of universities, colleges, and schools in the city; and cooperate with Can Tho City to respond to natural disasters and climate change.

For his part, Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre congratulated Can Tho City's achievements over the past 20 years and expressed his hope that this meeting is an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the Philippines and Can Tho in the fields of economics and cultural exchange.

Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre revealed that the Philippines would send more delegations to explore cooperation opportunities and further deepen the relationship with Can Tho in the future.

Statistics show Can Tho raked in US$56.91 million from exporting its major products such as rice, seafood, garments, fertilizers, and chemicals to the Philippines between January and September 2023.

To date, Can Tho has seen no foreign direct investment (FDI), official development assistance (ODA), and non-governmental organization (NGO) projects from the Philippines.