Armenian Ambassador to Vietnam: "I like Vietnamese people"

Like other republics of the former Soviet Union, Armenia made a definite contribution to the struggle for national independence and unification of the Vietnamese people.

In addition, many Vietnamese students and post-graduates studied in Armenia. In 2012, President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan paid an official visit to Vietnam on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. So far, the two countries have reached an equal cooperation partnership and have mutual benefit.

While the Vietnamese people marked the Southern Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30^th), Armenian people also celebrated the great events of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24^th) and the Fascist Victory Day.

According to Ms. Raisa Vardanyan, Armenian Ambassador to Vietnam, although the two countries are geographically separated, they are similar in history and culture, and should come together to share, cooperate and develop. The evidence is that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vietnam became one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia in 1992.

"As the first Armenian Ambassador to Vietnam, I am extremely grateful to the government of Vietnam for creating the best conditions for the Armenian Embassy. This year, the two countries mark 25 years of diplomatic relations. The two countries maintain high level cooperation and actively promote relations in the fields of politics, economics, trade and humanity. Particularly, economic relations between Armenia and Vietnam will continue to grow thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Vietnam. In addition, the two countries will promote cooperation in the fields of investment, education, humanitarian and people-to-people exchanges. We are particularly interested in promoting cooperation between localities of the two countries," said Raisa Vardanyan.

Vietnam and Armenia are negotiating an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of education and training, actively exchanging missions to seek cooperation opportunities in fields in which the two countries have strengths.

It is expected that Armenia Culture Days will take place in 2018 in Vietnam, and Vietnam Cultural Days in Armenia will be organized in 2019. This is an annual activity that will be held alternately in the two countries. Recently, Literature Publishing House has published the novel "O, Mari!" in Vietnamese language, by famous Armenian writer Robert Enghibarian.

Ms. Raisa Vardanyan said that being located between the two continents of Asia and Europe, Armenia has a very distinctive culture, while Vietnam is also influenced by Western culture, and that is what makes the Vietnamese and Armenian people have many similarities.

"I like the Vietnamese people because they are willing to absorb new things, but always aware of preservation and promotion of traditional culture. We are very similar at that point. Our people always know how to rally to solve urgent problems," shared Raisa Vardanyan.

At present, many Armenians are living and working in Vietnam. They work in different fields and most achieve certain success in the work, because they feel at home.

Mr. Igor Mirzoyan has a canning company and has many longtime partners in Vietnam. The warm climate and friendly, open-minded Hanoi people are the impressions that made his family decide to work in Vietnam for a long time.

Currently, the two-way trade between Vietnam and Armenia is only USD16 million a year. This is a relatively modest figure, which is not commensurate with the potential and demands of each country. Cultural and human factors will continue to be a solid foundation for Vietnam and Armenia to expand their economic cooperation in the coming time on the basis of mutual understanding and trust, for the benefit and common prosperity of the people of the two countries./.