Vietnamese embassy opens in Sri Lanka

State President Truong Tan Sang on October 15 met with the staff at the Vietnamese embassy in the capital of Colombo, and attended the opening of its new headquarters there.  

The President stressed that the opening of the embassy shows the good relations between Vietnam and Sri Lanka and their determination to boost bilateral cooperation at regional and international forums.

He also praised the efforts of the embassy staff and hoped that they will fulfill the tasks assigned by the Vietnamese Party and State.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dissanayake Jayaratne affirmed that Sri Lanka is a traditional friend of Vietnam and his government and people welcomed Vietnam's decision to reopen its embassy this year.

Mr. Sang congratulated the Sri Lankan government on their remarkable achievements in recovering national stability, security, and consolidation to reconstruct the country and achieve a high GDP growth rate of 8 percent in 2010.

He confirmed that Vietnam values its ties with South Asian countries, including Sri Lanka.

President Sang thanked Sri Lanka for granting five full scholarships and 100 half- scholarships to Vietnamese students studying English in the country and urged the two countries to strengthen exchanges of delegations and establish new mechanisms for cooperation in specific sectors.

The two leaders agreed to raisetwo-way trade turnover to US$1 billion in the coming years.

The Sri Lankan PM stressed that he will work closely with the Vietnamese Government, ministries and departments to implement the decisions reached at the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Joint Commission’s second meeting and other agreements on economy, security and defense.

In the afternoon of the same day, President Sang left Colombo for Hanoi, concluding his visit to India and Sri Lanka.

Earlier on October 14, the Vietnamese President met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Gamini Lakshman Peiris.

(VOV)

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