Vietnam’s Consulate General in San Francisco, USA, coordinated with local authorities to raise the Vietnamese flag on the local administration’s headquarters on Sept. 2, Vietnam’s National Day.

Addressing the flag raising ceremony, Charlotte Mailliard, head of the local administration’s protocol department, highlighted the development of relations between Vietnam and the US. She said her city is proud to fly the Vietnamese flag on Vietnam’s National Day.

Vietnamese Consul General in San Francisco Le Quoc Hung said this was the second time such a ceremony was held.

He stressed the significance of the event, which would help overseas Vietnamese people understand the developing relations between the two countries.

He also said the local administration on the occasion handed over a document signed by the city’s mayor to recognise September 2 as Vietnamese Heritage Day in San Francisco.

The same day, the Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco held a banquet to celebrate the 64th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day.

Addressing the banquet, Hung said 2009 marked new steps in development for both countries.

The Consul General said the US continues to be a leading partner of Vietnam with 13 billion USD in two-way trade turnover and 4 billion USD in investment. The two countries have been implementing a number of agreements in the fields of politics, national security and defence, science and technology, education, and humanitarian aid.

He also highlighted the contributions of the overseas Vietnamese community in the US in general and California in particular to Vietnam’s development.

He reiterated that the overseas Vietnamese community is an integral part of and a source of power for the Vietnamese nation, playing an important role in the development of the country’s relations with other countries around the world./.