Vietnam Embassy marks 77th Anniversary of National Day
Zubair Qureshi
Ambassador of Vietnam Nguyen Tien Phong on Friday said the trade volume between Vietnam and Pakistan is growing steadily—US$54 million in 2005, $700 million in 2017 and more than $ 794 million in 2021. Vietnam and Pakistan, he said, enjoyed excellent friendship and cooperation in diverse fields and currently, both the countries are preparing to organize the 3rd Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and the 5th Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) and Joint Trade Commission (JTC).
Ambassador Phong was addressing a reception marking the 77th Anniversary of the National Day of Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the Marriott.
Additional Secretary (Asia & Pacific) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was the chief guest on the occasion while Dean of Diplomatic Corps Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Movlamov, Spokesperson for the MoFA, Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, Heads of the Missions of the Association of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee of Islamabad (ACI)— Ambassador of Indonesia, Adam M. Tugio, Ambassador of Myanmar Win Myint, Ambassador of Thailand Chakkrid Krachaiwong, High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam Abdul Mubdi Osman, Acting High Commissioner of Malaysia, Deddy Faisal and Chargé d’Affaires of the Philippines, Maria Agnes M Cervantes—were among the special guests at the reception.
Owing to Ambassador Phong’s charm and magnetic personality, a large number of ambassadors and high commissioners, charge d’affaires and defence and commercial attaches had come to greet him and his elegant spouse Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga on the auspicious occasion.
While addressing the audience on the occasion, the Ambassador of Vietnam said 77 years ago, on September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh, who has been honored by UNESCO as National Liberation Hero and World’s Cultural Celebrity read out the Declaration of Independence thus officially giving birth to Vietnam Democratic Republic, now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
Quoting Ho Chi Minh’s words that ‘Nothing is more precious than independence,’ Ambassador Phong who is also chairman of the ASEAN Committee of Islamabad (ACI) said, since independence, the Ho Chi Minh era overcame many difficulties and challenges to maintain its independence and unification.
After reunifying the country in 1975, the people of Vietnam have joined hands to the national reconstruction from the ashes of war.
Giving a spectacular journey of Vietnam’s progress and prosperity, he said with an average annual GDP growth of about 7pc over the past 36 years, Vietnam today ranks among the top 40 economies with the largest GDP in the world, and the top 16 most successful emerging economies.
In 2021, the total trade turnover reached a record level, i.e. US$670, an increase of nearly 23pc. Vietnam has joined 15 FTAs, including new generation FTAs, such as CPTPP, EVFTA, RCEP, etc.
Ambassador spoke high of Pakistan saying Pakistan and Vietnam were celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations in 2022.
Some 50 years ago, on November 8th, 1972, Vietnam and Pakistan officially established diplomatic relations, opening a new page in friendship and cooperation between the two countries, he said referring to the presence of the first Pakistani ambassador to Vietnam Ambassador Tariq Osman Hyder at the reception. Ambassador Tariq opened the Pakistan mission in Vietnam in challenging times when war was at its peak and contributed to developing and strengthening bilateral relations, he said.
Ambassadors Salahuddin Choudhry, Shahid Kiani and Zaigham Uddin Azam also contributed to the relations between the two countries in recent decades, he said.
At the end, the Ambassador expressed his country’s deep and profound sympathy, heartfelt condolences over the loss of more than 1,000 lives resulting from the unprecedented floods, calamities in Sindh and Balochistan and other parts of the country.
Additional Secretary Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in her brief address congratulated the Ambassador and his spouse and the staff of the Vietnamese embassy on the 77th anniversary of Independence. Vietnam, she said, inspired the imagination of millions of people for two decades (1955-1975). Today, Pakistan and Vietnam enjoy excellent trade, tourism, people-to-people and business-to-business relations, she said.
