Two famous tourist cities in Vietnamand Australia, Hoi An and Kiama, have agreed to strengthen cooperationto boost economic, cultural and educational exchanges.

Officials from the two provinces made the statement at a meeting onAugust 10 on the occasion of a visit to Australia by a delegation fromHoi An city, led by the deputy head of the municipal People’s CommitteeNguyen Van Dung.

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

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

Mayor of the Australian city, Sandra McCarthy, said the meeting helpednot only strengthen the two countries’ friendship but also createdcooperation in the fields of business, tourism and communityactivities.

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 commemorationof the anniversaries being celebrated on both sides.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney and the delegation from HoiAn presented Vietnamese books and magazines to the Kiama City libraryand enjoyed a musical performance of Vietnamese students after theceremony.

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