Senior officials of the State of Western Australia conveyed their best wishes to the People of Vietnam in a ceremony in Perth on September 2 on the occasion of Vietnam’s 69th National Day.

Speaking at the event, the Administrator of the State of Western Australia, Wayne Martin, and the Attorney General and Commerce Minister, Michael Mischin, spoke highly of the achievements gained by Vietnam and praised the progress made in Vietnamese-Australian relations, as well as the relationship between Vietnam and the State of Western Australia.

Meanwhile, Perth’s Governor Lisa Scaffidi highlighted the contributions made by the Vietnamese community to the city in previous years, adding that she hoped to further strengthen the city’s ties with Vietnamese localities.

Vietnam is now the state’s 16 th largest trade partner, with an import-export revenue of approximately 1 billion USD generated in 2013. Nearly 2,000 Vietnamese nationals are studying at Australian educational institutions.

On the same day, the Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship between Peoples, Alicia Corredera, joined the Vietnamese embassy’s staff and other Cuban officials in laying wreaths at President Ho Chi Minh’s memorial at Peace Park in Cuba’s capital city of Havana.

Vietnamese Ambassador Duong Minh highlighted the late President’s patriotic philosophy and revolutionary spirit, as well as his leading role in the struggle for national independence.

The historical event of September 2, 1945, when President Ho Chi Minh read out the Declaration of Independence, marked the beginning of a new era for the Vietnamese people, Minh said.

On this occasion, the diplomat also held interviews with several Cuban media agencies on Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and Vietnamese-Cuban solidarity, friendship and cooperation.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Mozambique hosted a banquet celebrating the 69 th National Day, with the participation of Politburo member and Secretary General of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front Party (FRELIMO), Eliseu Joaquim Machava, and nearly 300 international guests.

On behalf of the Government of Mozambique, the General Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Filipe Shidumo, praised the achievements gained by the Vietnamese people over the past years.

He expressed his hope to learn from Vietnam’s experiences in socio-economic development and national defence.

Ambassador Nguyen Van Trung reviewed the progress made in terms of the friendship and mutual cooperation between the parties, governments and peoples of Vietnam and Mozambique. He noted that the two countries have reached and renewed a number of partnership agreements.

Earlier this year, the two sides held the third meeting of the Vietnam-Mozambique Intergovernmental Committee in Hanoi and launched a 2.2 million USD project to support the development of food crops in Mozambique.

Next year, the two countries are jointly holding the ‘Vietnam-Mozambique Friendship Year’ in celebration of the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties.-VNA