Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has asked the national radio station the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) to uphold its role as a bridge connecting the Party and the State with the people.

Deputy PM Hung made the request at the VOV’s 65 th founding anniversary in Hanoi on Sept. 6.

The deputy PM commended the VOV on its timely provision of information on the Party and State’s policies and encouragement of the people and the armed forces during the wars against the French colonialists and the US aggressors.

As the country launched renewal efforts, the national radio has also constantly reformed itself and maintained its key role in Vietnam ’s revolutionary press system, he said.

For his part, VOV General Director Vu Van Hien said the radio station now broadcasts on five channels to cater for the needs and interests of different target listeners.

Every day, the VOV is on air more than 200 hours with more than 200 different programmes.

The radio dedicates its VOV5 channel to international broadcasting with programmes in 11 languages, as well as one programme in Vietnamese for overseas Vietnamese listeners.

It also broadcasts in 12 different ethnic minority languages. With its up-to-date technology, VOV’s coverage reaches 99 percent of the country and it can be heard even in the East Sea 3,500-4,000 km from the shore.

In addition to radio broadcasting, the VOV has expanded its activities to television as well as printing and electronic press.

On this occasion, the VOV was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Order for the second time./.