Vietnam's National Day celebrated in Egypt, South Africa

Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong (L) in an interview with reporter from Nile Cultural TV channel (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnamese Embassy in Cairo held an event on September 1 to introduce the culture and image of Vietnamese people to local friends on the occasion of the 75th National Day of Vietnam.

During the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong also met the local media to introduce the Vietnamese culture and cuisine, as well as socio-economic achievements of the country and important milestones in Vietnam-Egypt relations.
 
He underlined that the 75th National Day of Vietnam coincides with the 57th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Egypt diplomatic relations, while recalling the historical visit to Vietnam by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in 2017, during which more than 20 cooperation deals were signed, including those in economy, education and collaboration among localities.

Recently, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held phone talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss cooperation measures amidst the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and seek new development orientations for the bilateral partnership, the ambassador said.

The diplomat held that in the future, the two sides will enjoy more fruitful cooperation thanks to the implementation of commitments they made in 2017 and 2018.

Also on September 1, at a ceremony held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Pretoria, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Van Loi said that the date of September 2, 1945 opened a new chapter for Vietnam with numerous achievements during the cause of national defence and construction.

He affirmed the increasing role and position of Vietnam in the world arena as well as the country’s positive and effective contributions to the maintenance of peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, especially in 2020 when Vietnam takes over its roles as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Chair of ASEAN and President of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

He held that since the beginning of 2020, the world has faced great challenges, especially those brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the determination of the whole people and the political system, Vietnam has implemented the double goals of preventing the spread of the pandemic and boosting economic growth. The GDP growth in the first six months of this year reached 1.81 percent, which is likely to reach 2.8 percent for the whole year. Foreign direct investment in the first seven months reached 3.15 billion USD, up 79.8 percent year on year, while trade surplus was 7.5 billion USD.

Loi also expressed pleasure at the development of Vietnam-South Africa relations over the years. Despite the complicated developments of the pandemic, the two countries maintained their exchange through flexible forms, he said.

On September 1, South Africa’s Diplomatic Society online newspaper ran a story by its Editor-in-Chief Kirtan Bhana, highlighting major milestones during Vietnam’s national construction and defence over the past 75 years.

According to the author, since September 2, 1945 when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, the Southeast Asian nation has risen to become one of the most dynamic newly-emerged economies in the world.

The “Doi Moi” (renewal) policy with the wide and in-depth vision of the Communist Party of Vietnam have shown efficiency over the past 35 years, noted the author, adding that the country’s economy has maintain reasonable and stable growth with stable macro-economy, benefiting the region.

Vietnamese products have been sold in more than 200 countries and territories, while the nation has integrating deeper and more comprehensive into the regional and world economies, he wrote./.