The 87th birthday anniversary of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Thailand’s National Day (December 5, 1927 - 2014) was marked at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on December 9.

The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the city’s Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association (VTFA).

Addressing the ceremony, President of the HCM City VTFA Truong Hoang took note of the expanding relations between the two countries in all fields, as seen in the exchange of visits of many high-ranking delegation and growing trade and economic ties, as well as cooperation in education, tourism, defence and security.

According to Hoang, there are currently 135 Thai-invested projects worth more than 220 million USD in HCM City.

Panpimon Suwannaponge, Thai Consul General to HCM City, said this year marked the first visit to Vietnam of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha after taking office , during which the 2014-2016 action programme on the implementation of Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership was signed.

The Thai diplomat pledged that her agency and the Thai community living in the South will join the VUFO’s efforts to cement the bilateral relationship.

Vietnam and Thailand target to raise two-way trade turnover reaching 15 billion USD in 2020.-VNA