Delegates visit stalls at the fair. — Photos courtesy of Bắc Ninh Province

BẮC NINH — The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in coordination with the Bắc Ninh Provincial People’s Committee, on September 16 evening held the opening ceremony of the Northern Region Industry and Trade Fair 2026 – Bắc Ninh.

The event, organised at the Bắc Ninh Provincial Cultural and Tourism Promotion Centre, forms part of the National Trade Promotion Programme 2026.

Attending the opening ceremony were Phạm Văn Thịnh, Deputy Chairman of the Bắc Ninh Provincial People’s Committee; Nguyễn Xuân Định, Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union; and Hoàng Minh Chiến, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ceremony was also joined by leaders of the Department of Industry and Trade and other provincial departments, agencies and localities, as well as representatives of participating businesses and co-operatives.

Nguyễn Văn Phương, Deputy Director of the Bắc Ninh Department of Industry and Trade, delivers the opening remarks.

The fair features more than 222 stalls and attracts over 200 organisations and businesses.

They are displaying and introducing industrial and commercial products from northern provinces and cities, One Commune, One Product (OCOP) products, outstanding rural industrial products, handicrafts and products from traditional craft villages, distinctive products from businesses, as well as regional commercial, tourism and culinary products.

In his opening remarks, Nguyễn Văn Phương, Deputy Director of the Bắc Ninh Department of Industry and Trade, said the fair had been organised to enable businesses and co-operatives to promote their products, expand their markets, strengthen the connection between supply and demand, and promote linkages among localities and businesses.

It also provides an opportunity to showcase Bắc Ninh’s potential, advantages, socio-economic development achievements and investment and business environment, while promoting distinctive products from northern provinces and cities.

Hoàng Minh Chiến, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, speaks at the event.

Through product displays and introductions, business-matching activities, conferences and seminars, the fair helps create further opportunities for businesses to meet partners, expand their distribution networks, access markets and reach consumers.

It also contributes to developing the domestic market, responding to the “Vietnamese People Give Priority to Using Vietnamese Goods” campaign, and promoting the application of digital technology and e-commerce in trade promotion.

The fair is taking place at a particularly significant time for Bắc Ninh, as the resolution establishing Bắc Ninh as a centrally administered city officially takes effect on September 20.

In its new phase of development, the province has identified science and technology, innovation, high-tech industry, trade, services and logistics as key sectors.

It is also strengthening connections with other localities and participating more deeply in global supply chains.

Against this backdrop, the Northern Region Industry and Trade Fair 2026 – Bắc Ninh also provides an opportunity for the province to introduce to friends, partners and people across the country the image, potential, aspirations and stature of a future centrally administered city.

Hoàng Minh Chiến, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, emphasised that the Northern Region Industry and Trade Fair 2026 – Bắc Ninh is a large-scale regional trade promotion event.

It is being held as part of the National Trade Promotion Programme under the joint direction of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Bắc Ninh Provincial People’s Committee.

The fair is taking place as Bắc Ninh prepares to become a centrally governed city. It provides an opportunity to highlight the province’s development from a predominantly agricultural area into a major industrial growth pole and a centre for high-tech manufacturing, supporting industries and exports.

Hosting a fair of regional scale also helps affirm Bắc Ninh’s role in connecting the economy, trade and logistics with the capital region and the Red River Delta.

Chiến expressed his hope that the fair’s activities would give businesses and co-operatives more opportunities to seek partners, expand their market share and access digital solutions for distribution.

Delegates perform the opening ceremony of the Northern Region Industry and Trade Fair 2026.

These activities would help improve business efficiency and enable Vietnamese brands to participate more deeply in value chains.

He also recognised and praised the efforts of the organising committee, the Department of Industry and Trade and the Bắc Ninh Centre for Industry and Trade Development in making thorough and methodical preparations, helping ensure that the fair would be held safely, effectively and in a civilised manner.

The Northern Region Industry and Trade Fair 2026 – Bắc Ninh will run until September 22. The fair was scheduled to take place from September 16 to 22, 2026, according to the provincial announcement. — VNS