About 150 Vietnamese and Chinese experts and officials gathered here last Friday and Saturday for a fourth international conference to discuss plans for development of the Red River basin shared by the northern province of Lao Cai and China's southern province of Yunnan.
Economic and cultural co-operation in the river basin has focused on sustainable development and harmony between the natural environment and the interests of all parties concerned, said the director of the Lao Cai provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Tran Huu Son.
Forum participants reviewed research projects focused on the historical and cultural values of the Red River basin and aimed at boost understanding and co-operation between the two provinces, as well as the development of sustainable tourism links between Yunnan's Honghe Prefecture and Lao Cai.
They also discussed the establishment of the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong economic corridor – especially the challenges faced by communities along the corridor.
The forum heard from scholars from prestigious Vietnamese and Chinese educational and research institutions who highlighted the important role that Lao Cai and Yunnan play in economic and cultural exchanges between Vietnam's major northern delta and southwestern China.
They addressed such topics as trade, the role of the Hai Phong-Kunming railway in tourism development, the distinctive cultures of the basin's ethnic groups, and Vietnam-China friendship exchanges, as well as the joint programme entitled "Two Corridors, One Economic Belt".
At the end of the biennial forum, the participants set out on fact-finding tours of the Bac Ha and Bao Yen tourist sites in Lao Cai and the city of Kaiyuan in Yunnan.
Source: VNS