On Wednesday, January11, 2017, NEAR Secretary-General Jun Jae-won met with the Ambassador Pham Huu Chi to hold discussions to seek cooperation with NEAR.  NEAR Secretary-General Jun said ‘Recently, the scope of NEAR membership was opened from including nations within Northeast Asia to all regions in Asia, through the adoption of associate membership. It would be necessary for the regional governments of Vietnam to use the platform for more cooperation with other regional governments in Northeast Asia." This year, it is anticipated that more mutual exchange will take place, especially since the 2017 Ho Chi Minh City-Gyeongju Expo will be held in Ho Chi Minh City. NEAR has asked for support from the Embassy of Vietnam to encourage more regional governments to join NEAR as associate members.
Ambassador Pham Huu Chi has said that the Embassy will support Vietnamese regional governments to join NEAR and participate in various activities for more exchange with NEAR members. Vietnam has 58 provinces and five central cities. (58 Provinces and five Central Cities in Vietnam)