Several notable figures attended the conference, including the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai, the secretary of the Can Tho City Party Committee Nguyen Van Hieu, the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, the chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee Tran Viet Truong, and leaders from 12 provinces in the Mekong Delta region.

At the conference's opening, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai highlighted the significant potential for cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta. He noted high expectations from localities, but unfortunately, the cooperation results from March 2023 to the present have not lived up to those expectations.

During today's conference, the leader of Ho Chi Minh City expressed his hope to hear opinions from local representatives and businesses on effective solutions for cooperation that would yield more practical results moving forward. This effort aims to contribute to the socio-economic development of both the Mekong Delta region and Ho Chi Minh City.

Chairman Phan Van Mai is genuinely concerned about this situation and is eager to achieve a practical breakthrough. Ho Chi Minh City remains open, willing to listen, and ready to collaborate with the Mekong Delta localities, the business community, and residents to implement effective cooperation initiatives.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai delivered the opening speech at the conference.

The Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City has announced that the city and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region signed a socio-economic development cooperation agreement in March 2023. This agreement focuses on six key areas: the development of transport infrastructure, tourism promotion, supply and demand connection, investment and trade enhancement, climate change adaptation cooperation, advancements in science and technology, digital transformation, education, and healthcare.

In 2023 and 2024, Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong localities implement various regional cooperation programs, including business linkages, goods supply and demand connections, investment and trade promotion, and bilateral cooperation in the consumption of key agricultural products. These programs apply high technology in agriculture, develop transport infrastructure, and foster innovation in science and technology. The initiatives aim to support business growth, improve living standards, and contribute to the socio-economic development of the localities involved. Notably, regional cooperation in the healthcare sector has alleviated the burden on Ho Chi Minh City's health system, providing better healthcare for residents of the Mekong Delta region.

Representatives of Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta provinces and cities attended the conference.

The effectiveness of the Cooperation Agreement is relatively low. Many areas have only reached the preliminary stages of development, such as research or proposals in science and technology development and digital transformation. These efforts have mainly resulted in establishing a foundational framework, represented as a website, as part of the socio-economic development cooperation program between Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta. Additionally, traffic infrastructure development remains a pressing issue. The high traffic volume from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta often leads to congestion, especially during holidays and the Lunar New Year (Tet). Unfortunately, this problem has not been fundamentally addressed to date.

At the conference, Chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee Tran Viet Truong emphasized the importance of regional connections and domestic and international collaboration to achieve rapid and sustainable development. He stated that this task is crucial for Can Tho City, highlighting the goal of “maximizing internal and external resources, particularly regional linkages and infrastructure connections in the Mekong Delta.”

Can Tho City recognizes its central role in the Mekong Delta region. Regarding international connections and cooperation, Can Tho is a vital bridge between the entire area and the world. Regarding regional linkages, Can Tho, positioned as the heart of the Mekong Delta, closely collaborates with neighboring localities. The city aims to innovate its development models through value chain-linked production, thereby fostering connections that enhance strength and drive sustainable and prosperous development.

On a national scale, Can Tho is pivotal in promoting cooperation with other centrally-run cities and areas in the North Central region. The city focuses on strengthening partnerships in various sectors, including infrastructure, proactive trade and investment promotion, developing inter-provincial tourism routes, and advancing healthcare and science in collaboration with leading hospitals.

Conference for the preliminary review of the cooperative agreement on socio-economic development between Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong Delta localities.

Implementing regional linkages synchronized, enhancing cooperation among localities within the region, the entire country, and international partners. Can Tho be collaborating with Ho Chi Minh City and has signed agreements with institutes and schools in various areas such as high-tech agriculture, education and human resource training, specialized healthcare, science, technology and innovation, inter-regional transport infrastructure, tourism development, and the connection of supply and demand, investment and trade promotion, and market expansion. The goal is to establish Can Tho City as a development hub for the Mekong Delta region.

At the conference, the leaders of the People's Committees from different provinces and cities analyzed and evaluated the results and proposed solutions for ongoing linkage and cooperation during 2024-2025. The aim is to foster practical socio-economic development for each locality.