The General Association of Vietnamese-Cambodian in Cambodia held a meeting on August 30 to mark the National Day. (Photo: VOV)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa on August 30held a grand ceremony to mark the 72nd anniversary of Vietnam’sAugust Revolution Day (August 19) and National Day (September 2).
Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Vu Van Dungrecalled the country’s historical milestone when President Ho Chi Minh read theDeclaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square 72 years ago, officially givingbirth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic ofVietnam.
The more than seven decades have witnessed Vietnamese people’s tremendous effortsto overcome challenges to protect national freedom and independence as well aspromote national construction, he highlighted.
The Vietnamese Ambassador underlined that the Vietnamese Party and Governmentalways cherish comprehensive partnership relations with South Africa, hopingthat the two countries will further effective cooperation in fields of economy,trade, education, security and defence and environment protection.
He expressed his delight over strong cooperation in various sectors between thetwo nations with two-way trade standing at over 1.2 billion USD in 2016. Theyare targeting to increase bilateral trade to 3 billion USD by 2020, he added.
Meanwhile, Edward Xolisa Makaya, Chief Director for Africa at the Department ofInternational Relations and Cooperation of South Africa stated that both sidesneed to take advantage of the sound traditional political relations, includingsolidarity between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the African NationalCongress party, to bolster cooperation in fields of their demands and potentiallike tourism, defence and environment.
He expressed hope that Vietnam will continue to share experience inagricultural development and poverty reduction and the two countries willbolster coordination at regional and multilateral forums.
Vietnam’s traditional cuisine was offered to the participants at the event.
The anniversaries were also celebrated at a meeting in Cambodia on August 30 bythe General Association of Vietnamese-Cambodian in Cambodia.
President of the Association Chau Van Chi highlighted that Vietnamese peoplecommunity in Cambodia is an inseparable part of Vietnam and they always turntheir heart to the fatherland.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Thach Du affirmed that Vietnameseexpatriates, including those in Cambodia, have played an important part in thecountry’s robust achievements in the past years.
An art performance was delivered at the meeting.-VNA
VNA
