PANO - The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a banquet to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations on July 30th in Hanoi.

Vietnamese photographers visiting the exhibition "Photos on Vietnam-US relations and the US through the lens of Vietnamese photographers." Photo: VNA

Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc highlighted the remarkable achievements obtained by the two countries over the past twenty years. The two countries have boosted cooperation in various fields, he said, adding that with their comprehensive partnership, Vietnam and the US would greatly contribute to maintaining peace, sustainability and cooperation in the region.

For his part, US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said the two sides are effectively cooperating in overcoming the consequences of the war and discussing measures to further enhance cooperation since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations on July 11th 1995.

The Ambassador was impressed with the development in bilateral trade, which currently reaches approximately USD 40 billion per year, a 100-fold increase compared to 20 years ago and the figure will be even higher once the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal is signed.

The celebration also includes an exhibition themed "Photos on Vietnam-US relations and the US through the lens of Vietnamese photographers".

Source: PAN/Vietnam+

Translated by Anh Tien