President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong has said he believes international friends will continue to give assistance and close collaboration to Vietnam this year.

Meeting with representatives from diplomatic corps, international and non-Governmental organisations (NGO) in Hanoi on January 17 on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year, Hong thanked them for their effective assistance to Vietnam in 2013.

He noted with pleasure Vietnam’s cooperation with foreign partners over the past time. The foreign non-Governmental assistance hit some 250 million USD which has gone to poverty reduction, socio-economic development, health care, education, social affairs, environmental protection, emergency assistance, climate change prevention and post-war recovery, he said.

Friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and international organisations will continue to thrive, he promised.

On behalf of the diplomatic corps in Hanoi, Moroccan Ambassador to Vietnam El Houcine Fardani hailed VUFO for facilitating people-to-people exchange over the past time, saying that its activities have popularised Vietnam as a beautiful and hospitable country worldwide.

Director of the NGO Resource Centre Marko Lovrekovic, for his part, committed to funding and getting involved in Vietnam’s course of development.

The meeting was co-hosted by VUFO and the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee.-VNA