Vietnam’s flag raised in San Francisco on National Day

 Vietnamese flags fly in front of the City Hall of San Francisco, the US. (Photo: VNA)

San Francisco (VNA) - Vietnam’s General Consulate in San Francisco, the US, and the municipal authorities held a ceremony to hoist the Vietnamese flag on September 1 morning to mark the country’s 76th National Day.

Consul General Nguyen Trac Toan spoke highly of the contributions by the local authorities to promoting relations between the two countries, especially the determination to establish the sisterly relationship with Ho Chi Minh City right before the two nations normalised their diplomatic relations.

He thanked the US Government and the US Department of State for donating 6 million vaccine doses to Vietnam.

Toan also expressed gratitude to the San Franciso-Ho Chi Minh City Sister City Committee for its efforts to push up donation and relief programmes to help the Government and people of Vietnam in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The diplomat said he hopes that the US Government and people will continue standing side by side and supporting the Vietnamese people to overcome difficulties and challenges caused by the pandemic under the motto "a friend in need is a friend indeed ", thereby supporting overseas Vietnamese in California to stabilise their lives.

 Consul General Nguyen Trac Toan (second from left) and representatives of San Franciso pose for a group photo. (Photo: VNA)

Mark Chandler, Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of International Trade and Commerce, thanked the Government and people of Vietnam for presenting 10,000 masks to the city from the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On behalf of the city authorities, Chandler handed over to Toan San Francisco Mayor London Breed's statement declaring that September 2, 2021, is designated as the US-Vietnam heritage and friendship day in San Francisco./.