Friday, 05/05/2017 18:46 (GMT+7)
Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra on May 4th awarded the first-class May Medal to Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Dinh Thao to record his contributions to strengthening the cooperation between the two countries.
(From right) Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, Ambassador Nguyen Dinh Thao and his spouse at the ceremony (Photo: VNA)
Speaking at the ceremony, the Argentine Foreign Minister highly appreciated Ambassador Nguyen Dinh Thao’s efforts over the past three years, contributing to developing and expanding all aspects of cooperation between the two countries, especially in trade and economic exchange.
Ms. Malcorra affirmed that Vietnam played an important role in fostering the cooperation between the South American Common Market (Mercosur), of which Argentina is currently President, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
She stressed that awarding the medal to Ambassador Thao was to show the special interest of the government of Argentina and President Mauricio Macri in strengthening relations with Vietnam.
For his part, the Vietnamese Ambassador expressed his honour at receiving the May Medal and thanked the government and Argentine people for their good feelings to Vietnam as well as the Ambassador during the past three years.
He stressed that he would continue to contribute to strengthening and developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations.
Over the past four years, trade revenue between Vietnam and Argentina has doubled, reaching more than USD3 billion last year. Vietnam is now Argentina's 6th largest trading partner, up from 70th place in 2000.
Before the ceremony, Foreign Minister Malcorra had a friendly reception with Ambassador Nguyen Dinh Thao on the occasion of ending his term.
The May Medal is a noble award of the Argentine government for foreigners, to acknowledge special contributions to the international relations development of the South American nation./.
BTA