Officials from the two provinces made the statement at a meeting on August 10 on the occasion of a visit to Australia by a delegation from Hoi An City, led by the deputy head of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Dung.

The delegation attended a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Kiama City Council and other activities to commemorate the 64th anniversary of Vietnam’s August Revolution and National Day held by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney.

The two sides reviewed the implementation of a cooperation agreement which was signed during a visit to Hoi An City by a delegation from the Kiama City Council last November.

Mayor of the Australian city, Sandra McCarthy, said the meeting helped not only strengthen the two countries’ friendship but also created cooperation in the fields of business, tourism and community activities.

After the meeting, Kiama City plans to hold more cultural exchange activities and reciprocal visits, she added.

The same day, a joint flag-raising ceremony was held in commemoration of the anniversaries being celebrated on both sides.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney and the delegation from Hoi An presented Vietnamese books and magazines to the Kiama City library and enjoyed a musical performance of Vietnamese students after the ceremony.

Kiama City is a famous tourism site in the state of New South Wales. Over the years, local people and enterprises have donated about AUD 240,000 to Operation Smile Vietnam to provide healthcare services and perform free operations on Vietnamese children born with facial deformities, such as cleft palates and hare-lips.