Scene of the working session

Comrade Nguyen Thi Loan, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee, speaks at the working session

Speaking at the working session, Comrade Nguyen Thi Loan, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee, expressed her pleasure at welcoming Professor Ueda Yoshiaki and the delegation from the Japan-Vietnam Economic Exchange Center to Thai Nguyen to visit, learn about the province, and discuss cooperation opportunities. Introducing the potential and strengths of the local tea industry, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Loan said that Thai Nguyen has a long-standing tea production tradition, with many renowned tea-growing areas and a diverse range of products. Green tea is the flagship product, with the province ranking first nationwide in both acreage and output.

In particular, Thai Nguyen’s tea-growing areas share many similarities with several tea-growing regions in Japan in terms of climate, soil conditions, tea varieties, and cultivation practices. These favorable factors enable both sides to strengthen experience sharing, technology transfer, and cooperation in tea production, processing, and consumption. Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Loan emphasized that Thai Nguyen seeks to strengthen cooperation with Japanese businesses and organizations in the tea sector, especially by attracting Japanese enterprises to invest in production and processing facilities in the province, building linkages with tea-growing areas to improve product quality, and adopting advanced Japanese technology for value-added tea processing.

The Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee expressed the hope that, based on the survey and discussions in Thai Nguyen, the Japan-Vietnam Economic Exchange Center would continue to conduct more in-depth research into the province’s potential, production conditions, and cooperation needs. She also called on the Center to connect Japanese businesses and partners with tea-producing and processing cooperatives and enterprises in the province, thereby advancing specific cooperation programs in the coming time. She cordially invited Professor Ueda Yoshiaki and the delegation to Thai Nguyen to attend activities at the International Tea Festival - Thai Nguyen 2026 and expressed the hope that he would help bring Japanese businesses to the Festival to create a Japanese tea ceremony space, thereby adding distinctive and appealing features to the event.

Professor Ueda Yoshiaki, Director of the Japan-Vietnam Economic Exchange Center, shares his anticipation for the distinctive events to be held at the International Tea Festival - Thai Nguyen 2026

At the working session, representatives of the Japan-Vietnam Economic Exchange Center and Japanese businesses were deeply impressed by the potential, quality, and diversity of Thai Nguyen tea products. Based on their field observations, the delegation highly valued the quality of locally sourced Thai Nguyen tea leaves and considered it an important foundation for the two sides to explore cooperation opportunities. Japanese representatives expressed interest in introducing Japanese production and processing technologies and expertise into Thai Nguyen, thereby creating more high-value-added tea product lines while preserving the distinctive traditional flavor of Thai Nguyen tea.

During discussions at the working session, representatives of cooperatives engaged in tea production, processing, and trading in the province provided information on the current development of the tea industry, its achievements, and several challenges in expanding markets and improving product quality and value. Delegates also focused on opportunities to expand the presence of Thai Nguyen tea products in international markets; the potential to develop integrated value chains linking production, processing, and marketing; and the application of advanced Japanese processing technology suited to actual conditions in the province’s tea-growing areas.

Delegates posing for a commemorative photo, marking the beginning of long-term, close cooperation in the coming time