The Vietnam – Japan Friendship Association (VJFA) and the Japan – Vietnam Peace and Friendship Promotion Council hosted a friendship music concert in Hanoi on Sept.15. As part of activities to mark the 39 th anniversary of the Vietnam – Japan diplomatic ties and the Vietnam – Japan Friendship Year 2013, the event featured the Mandolin orchestra from Japan’s Meiji University. Addressing the event, Nghiem Vu Khai, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology and VJFA President said since the diplomatic ties were established on Sept. 21, 1973, the Vietnam - Japan friendly cooperation has increasingly deepened. Since the two countries’ leaders signed the Vietnam – Japan Joint Statement on comprehensively developing strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2009, Japan has always maintained the top position in trade, investment and official development assistance in Vietnam. At the concert, the Mandolin orchestra performed a number of popular Vietnamese and Japanese music pieces. During its music tour in Vietnam, the orchestra also participated in a music exchange with the disabled and Agent Orange-infected children from Nguyen Dinh Chieu high school and Vietnam friendship village in Hanoi’s outlying district of Hoai Duc. Established in 1923, the 60-member Mandolin orchestra has toured many countries worldwide.-VNA
