The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile hosted a banquet on September 1 to celebrate the 68th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day.

Attending the event were representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassadors from diplomatic corps, members of the Vietnam-Chile Friendship and Cooperation Association as well as Chilean enterprises and people.

Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador to Chile Ha Thi Ngoc Ha highlighted the significance of the August Revolution (Aug. 19) and National Day (Sept. 2), saying that over the past 68 years, Vietnam has recorded many achievements in its national construction and development and seen remarkable economic growth in the region and the world.

She stressed that Vietnam is now a party to negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreements, which will create the largest free trade market in Asia-Pacific.

The Vietnam-Chile relationship has also grown both in depth and width in recent years with two-way trade reaching a record 602 million USD in 2012, Ha said.

She added that Vietnam is now one of Chile’s most important trade partners in Southeast Asia.

Guests to the banquet had a chance to enjoy some Vietnamese dishes, a hat dance and a show of Ao dai (Vietnam’s traditional dress.-VNA