Vietnam is grateful to the Austrian people for their support for Vietnamese people’s past struggle for national independence, said a senior official.

This was stated by Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien while delivering a speech at a ceremony marking the 40 th anniversary of Austria-Vietnam diplomatic ties and Vietnam ’s 67 th National Day in Vienna on September 12.

Austria’s decision to officially set up diplomatic ties with Vietnam 40 years ago when the latter was entering the fiercest period of war of resistance against the US invaders represented not only its love for peace but also its support for Vietnamese people’s just war for national independence and reunification, Tien said.

Today, the minister said Vietnam and Austria have seen new prospects for cooperation, especially since Austrian President Heinz Fischer’s visit to Vietnam in May.

Many agreements and contracts signed between the two countries’ businesses on various fields, including infrastructure, energy, environment, tertiary education, industry, trade, tourism and health have been urgently implemented, she said.

On the occasion, Tien thanked Austrian donors for their support for AO victims in Vietnam .

During her September 10-13 visit, the Vietnamese Health Minister had a working session with her Austrian counterpart and visited some health care establishments in the country.

She will pay a working visit to the Czech Republic from September 13-16 to exchange views on health cooperation programmes between the two countries.-VNA