Ship of Southeast Asian Youths to visit HCM City

HCM City (VNA) - The Ship for Southeast Asian Youths with 328 young people from 10 ASEAN countries and Japan aboard will dock at Saigon Port , Ho Chi Minh City , on November 26.

During their four-day stay, the delegates will hold cultural exchanges with
local young people and stay with local families.

This year's ship departed from Japan and travel to Brunei , Thailand ,
Vietnam and the Philippines before returning to Japan . At present,
the ship is visiting Thailand .

Started in 1974 under a cooperative agreement of the governments of Japan
and five ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand, the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Programme
(SSEAYP) aims to strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between
Japanese and Southeast Asian young people, helping build a peaceful, stable
and developed region. The programme is held annually with Japan as the
main sponsor.

Vietnam joined SSEAYP in 1995 and has sent 29 youths to this year's
programme. SSEAYP has to date visited Vietnam nine times.-Enditem