On the occasion of the 67th Anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Embassy of Vietnam in Israel hosted a reception at the Royal Ball Room of the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel-Aviv on August 29, 2012.

Ambassador Dinh Xuan Luu and his wife, Mrs. Truong Phuong Hong, welcomed
Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, who assisted as an honorary guest to the reception. Also among the select group of distinguished guests was a delegation of representatives of the Arava International Center.

The Arava International Center is a professional training program for farmers from East Asian countries who come to southern Israel to train in agricultural techniques over a ten month period. The  Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism and “SINADCO” (Ministry of Agriculture) have worked in collaboration with official institutions of the participating countries, including Vietnam, to make this project possible.

The Vietnamese Ambassador spoke about the importance of the establishment of Vietnam as an independent Republic. This, he said, enabled the former colony to become a modern state, which over time, has established diplomatic relations with nearly  180 countries and achieved economic and commercial ties with over 200 countries, including Israel.



Regarding Israel, Mr. Xuang Luu reminded the audience that friendship and cooperation between Israel and Vietnam stem from a 1946 meeting between Ho Chi Minh and Ben Gurion, long before official relations between the countries were established. This bond, he assured, has only strengthened over time and can be attested to in several important areas. For instance, bilateral trade has risen to $660 million only in the first eight months of 2012, a development which the ambassador thanked the Israeli business community. Politically, the mutual exchange of diplomatic delegations between both countries has furthered the efforts towards cooperation and friendly relations. The Ambassador highlighted the visit of President Shimon Peres to Vietnam last November, which “leaves our leaders and all Vietnamese people with a deep and lasting impression, which gathers a great momentum to open doors to the economic cooperation, especially in agriculture and water technologies, IT and telecommunication, education and vocational training, homeland security as well as many other aspects in which we share a mutual interest.”

Finally, Ambassador Xuang Luu expressed his best wishes for the Jewish people on Rosh Hashanah, hoping that the coming year, when Israel and Vietnam will be celebrating 20 years of diplomatic relations, both countries will bring a new record of cooperation with which both countries can take pride in. The diplomat ended his speech with a thankful and cheerful toast.

Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov congratulated the people of Vietnam on behalf of the Government and people of Israel on their day of independence. He acknowledged the accomplishments of the East Asian country and its promising future.
Misezhnikov also commented on the coming celebration of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Israel. “During those 20 years we have been witnessing the development of ties in many spheres and two of the highlights were the opening of the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel in 2009 and a visit of our President, Shimon Peres, to Vietnam in 2011. Furthermore, Israel opened during the past year an office in Ho Chi Minh City, which is an economic extension of our Embassy in Hanoi,” he added.



The Minister focused on the establishment of a joint committee to be headed by Vietnam's
Minister of Science and Israel's Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor; a committee which is intended to advance economic, scientific, and technological cooperation, as well as discussions on political issues. When speaking about economic cooperation, Misezhnikov assured that Israel views Vietnam as one of the most important and growing markets in Asia.  Therefore, he was pleased to see many Israeli companies involved in the establishment of initiatives in different Vietnamese economic sectors.

When addressing the MASHAV project, the Israeli Minister explained that the project “provide[s] Vietnam and Israel with the opportunity to share knowledge and expertise, and bring the peoples of both nations closer together. Among the MASHAV activities, a large number of participants from Vietnam take part in international training courses in Israel in the areas of agriculture, water, information technology, education, food security, urban development, and more.”

On behalf of the government of Israel, Minister Misezhnikov wished President Trương Tấn Sang and the People of Vietnam the best in success, security and prosperity on their Independence Day, hoping friendship between Israel and Vietnam  may continue to flourish in the coming years.

After  singing of the Vietnamese National Anthem and the Hatikva the guest enjoy with a beautifull dinner.