Tran Phuoc Anh (R), Director of the HCM City Department of Foreign Affairs, congratulates Charlot Salwai, a representative of the Vanuatu Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade and a parliamentarian, on the opening of the Vanuatu Consulate General. (Photo: VNA) Addressing the event, Charlot Salwai,a representative of the Vanuatu Ministry of Foreign Affairs, InternationalCooperation and External Trade and a parliamentarian, described the officiallaunch of the Consulate General in HCM City as an important milestonein the intensification of bilateral diplomatic relations.
Vanuatu views Vietnam as an importantpartner who shares many similarities in history and national development, andit wishes to strengthen cooperation in the fields of common concern, he said.
Salwai noted the opening of theConsulate General holds particular importance since Vanuatu is working totighten links with the administration and people of Vietnam. It is ademonstration of the commitment to promoting development and mutualunderstanding between the two countries so as to further facilitate theirwin-win cooperation.
On behalf of local leaders, TranPhuoc Anh, Director of the HCM City Department of Foreign Affairs, stressedthat the ties between Vietnam and Vanuatu started in the early 20th century, when workers from Vietnam arrived in plantations of the archipelagonation. The Vietnamese community in Vanuatu plays a crucial role instrengthening the countries’ bonds in terms of economy, culture, tourism, andpeople-to-people exchanges.
Charlot Salwai, a representative of the Vanuatu Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade and a parliamentarian, addresses the ceremony. (Photo: VNA) Tran Nam Trung, Consul General of Vanuatu in HCM City, said Vietnamese peopleform one of the biggest foreign communities in Vanuatu, and they include manyentrepreneurs who have practically contributed to the host country’sdevelopment.
Given the community’s socio-economiccontributions, the Vanuatu Government realised the need to continueconsolidating the two countries’ diplomatic relations, and the opening of theConsulate General in HCM City is to implement that plan.
In the early 20th century,tens of thousands of Vietnamese people, mainly from the northern region, cameto work in plantations of Vanuatu. Most of them returned to the homeland in1960. There are about 500 Vietnamese-origin people in the South Pacific nationat present.
The two countries set up diplomatic relationsin 1982./.
VNA
