A meeting to mark the 40 th anniversary of Vietnam-Austria diplomatic ties (December 1) and 67 years of Vietnam’s National Day was held in Vienna, Austria on Sept. 12.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer and his spouse and Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien were among others to attend the event.

In her speech, Minister Tien stressed the importance of the establishment of the two countries’ diplomatic ties and thanked the Austrian government for its support to Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and reunification.

She also highlighted the achievements of cooperation between Vietnam and Austria over the last four decades in economics, trade, investment, culture, health care and education and training.

She affirmed Vietnam’s policy of continuing to expand cooperation and friendship with Austria, one of its important EU partners.

After the visit to Vietnam by Austrian President Heinz Fischer in May, the two countries’ relations are seeing a prospect for further development, Tien added.

For his part, Martin Eichtinger, Director General for Cultural Policy at the Austrian Foreign Ministry, affirmed that his government commits to giving more support to Vietnam’s renewal process as well as maintaining experience sharing with Vietnam in national industrialisation and modernisation.

A performance of Vietnamese royal court music and traditional dress (ao dai) was held after the meeting.-VNA