In terms of the economy and flagship sectors, Sakai is a city designated by government ordinance in Osaka Prefecture, located in Japan's Kansai region and directly adjacent to Osaka City. With a history spanning over 1,600 years, Sakai was one of Japan's busiest international trading ports during the medieval period, playing a vital role in trade with China, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asian countries. According to data from the Sakai City Government, this municipality is also renowned as the home of various famous traditional crafts, such as cutlery manufacturing, incense making, and artisan handicrafts. Furthermore, Sakai possesses a unique cultural heritage system, highlighted by the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2019. The combination of long-standing historical values and a modern development orientation has made Sakai one of the highly competitive and livable cities in the Kansai region.
Former Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Le Thanh Liem presents a souvenir to Ms. Emiko Hazama, former Vice Mayor of Sakai City. - Photo: The Saigon Times
Regarding economy, Sakai serves as an important industrial center in Japan with strengths in machinery manufacturing, environmental technologies, advanced materials, clean energy, and industrial equipment production. The city houses the production and research facilities of numerous leading Japanese enterprises, while actively developing high-tech industrial parks and green urban development initiatives. On the basis of each side's potential and development needs, Ho Chi Minh City aims to expand cooperation with Sakai in five key focus areas:
1. High-Tech Industries and Advanced Manufacturing: Promoting cooperation among enterprises, industrial parks, and research centers to develop precision machinery, automation, new materials, and smart manufacturing.
2. Environment and Green Urban Development: Strengthening the exchange of experiences in waste management, the circular economy, energy conservation, carbon emission reduction, and climate change response.
3. Innovation and Digital Transformation: Partnering to build an innovation ecosystem, connecting startups, research centers, and technology support organizations to drive digital transformation in urban governance and manufacturing.
4. High-Quality Human Resource Training: Expanding technical training programs, industrial management, environmental technology, and expert exchanges to meet the development demands of the digital economy and modern industries.
5. Cultural Exchanges and Tourism: Enhancing youth, educational, cultural, and tourism exchanges, while promoting heritage values to consolidate the solid social foundation for long-term cooperation between the two localities.