State President Truong Tan Sang attended a ceremony to inaugurate the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s representative office in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic during his State visit to the country.

Addressing the event, the President said the establishment of the office, the 30 th of its kind opened by the VNA abroad, is significant as it demonstrates that the country is actively integrating into the world.

He urged VNA correspondents in Prague to promote journalistic traditions and act as ambassadors for friendship and partnership between the two nations and peoples.

The State leader said he hopes the correspondents will improve the quality of their work, providing timely and accurate news of all types to Vietnamese readers and audiences, contributing to fostering the sound relations between Vietnam and the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi said the opening of the office, coincident with the 70 th anniversary of the VNA, is crucial as the Czech Republic is a strategic central Europe nation in which 65,000 Vietnamese people are living.

The country has also prioritised its relationship with Vietnam as it expands its foreign relations and comprehensive international integration, he noted.

VNA correspondents in Prague have provided diverse information about the Czech Republic and other neighbouring countries, creating a better understanding on the country and the region.

Meanwhile, the correspondents have also provided details of cooperation potential and opportunities between the two countries, and kept track on the progress of the Vietnamese community in the country, which has been officially recognised as an ethnic group within the Czech Republic by the government.

Earlier on May 12, President Truong Tan Sang visited Karlovy Vary province where the famous Moser Glas crystal and glass factory is based.

During a working session with leaders of the factory, he proposed that Moser Glas consider opening a branch in Vietnam in the future, thus reducing the cost of the products in Vietnam and meeting the demand of the country and region.

Meeting the governor of the province, the President spoke highly of the locality’s socio-economic development, suggesting that Karlovy Vary set up a partnership with Vietnamese localities to exchange experience in urban development.-VNA