On January 3, President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent their greetings to President of Myanmar Thein Sein on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of his country’s Independence Day (January 4, 1948-2013).

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also sent his greetings to Wunna Maung Lwin, his Myanmar counterpart.

On the same day, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Vietnam-ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation Association (VAFCA) held a meeting in Hanoi to mark the occasion.

Addressing the ceremony, VAFCA President Le Cong Phung reviewed the time-honoured friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Myanmar . He said that bilateral ties have continuously been strengthened with regular exchanges of high-ranking leaders in recent years.

Bilateral trade between the two countries hit 168 million USD in 2011, a 20-fold increase since 2000. Vietnam has invested 500 million USD in Myanmar , making it the country’s 12 th largest investor.

Ambassador of Myanmar Thet Oo said that the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Myanmar have grown since they established diplomatic ties in 1975.

Phung and Thet Oo expressed their belief that the Vietnam-Myanmar multi-faceted relationship will further develop in the interest of both nations, as well as for peace, stability, cooperation and development in Southeast Asia and the world./.VNA