The Republic of Argentina will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its National Day on May 25.

In a recent article he wrote and sent to Vietnam’s media, the Argentinean Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Religion, Jorge Taiana, gave an in-depth account of Argentina's history, its culture and recent developments.

Just 200 years ago, on May 25, 1810 in Buenos Aires, then the capital city of Virreinato del Rio de la Plata, local patriots decided to reject the Spanish colonialist authority and established the first ever independent management council. This was the first step on the road to Argentinean independence. After 10 years of struggle, the patriots won a final victory by totally defeating Spanish troops and founded the Argentine State.

Since 2003, Argentina’s economy has seen unprecedented developments. Its high annual growth rate and trade surplus have enabled the country to attract more resources from abroad.

The Argentine Government has actively boosted the country’s economic integration into the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR). The country has also actively participated in the Group of 20 Developed and Emerging Economies (G20).

In the political field, Argentina plans to turn the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) into a forum for regional countries to fight for peace and democracy.

One of the Argentinean State’s policies is to promote and protect human rights in order to strengthen the country’s national identity and its role in the international community.

In culture, Argentina is considered a place where different cultures converge.

The relationship between Vietnam and Argentina has been further strengthened with a number of visits by the two countries’ leaders, most recently Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Argentina from April 15-17, 2010.

During the visit, the Vietnamese PM and the Argentine President signed a joint statement and witnessed the signing of various cooperative agreements between the two countries, including a government-level agreement on energy cooperation, a memorandum of understanding on economic and trade negotiations between the two foreign ministries and a cultural cooperation programme in the 2010-2012 period between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Argentine Ministry of Culture.

During their talks, the two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of common concern.

Vietnam and Argentina will celebrate the 37th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year. In recent years, bilateral ties have seen rapid developments in every field and reached a strategic level.

Last year’s two-way trade saw a four-fold increase over 2004. The economic cooperation between the two countries has successfully expanded in different fields.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner informed PM Dung about her government’s recognition of Vietnam as a market economy in line with the agreements signed with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

At the inter-regional level, the two sides stressed that the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) is an important dialogue and cooperation mechanism. Vietnam congratulated Argentina on its re-election as the forum’s coordinator in Latin America and praised its role in promoting the FEALAC process, remarkably contributing to cooperation between East Asia and Latin America.

Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair, and Argentina, as the Chair of MERCOSUR, expressed their willingness to enhance dialogue and cooperation between the two groups in the fields of trade, investment, energy and food security, agriculture, transport and environmental protection.

Argentina spoke highly of the dynamic development and more important role of ASEAN in the international arena and confirmed its determination to strengthen relations between MERCOSUR and ASEAN. Argentina also acknowledged ASEAN’s interest in G20 activities./.