Vietnam will further promote cooperative ties in all fields with South Africa for sustainable cooperation and development and the benefit of the two peoples.

Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung was speaking at a reception to mark the 17 th anniversary of the National Day of South Africa, in Hanoi on April 27.

Hung said that the Vietnamese people were delighted at South Africa’s great achievements under the leadership of President Jacob Zuma and the African National Congress during the national construction and defence, raising the country’s role on international and regional forums.

He added that the South African Vice President’s visit to Vietnam last October and the upcoming visit of Vietnamese Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan to South Africa are proof of the close bilateral relationship.

Addressing the reception, South African Ambassador to Vietnam, Ratabatsi Super Moloi underlined that the National Day marks a milestone in the history of South African peoples' fighting for independence, paving the way to build a democratic country without racial and sex discrimination.

The diplomat expressed thanks to international friends for their support during the fight to eliminate the apartheid regime, as well as during the current national construction and defence of his country./.