Australia and Vietnam launch 45th anniversary year
Today Australia and Vietnam marked the beginning of the 45th anniversary year of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“Vietnam is one of Australia’s most important partners in the Indo-Pacific. Over the past 45 years our two countries have built a strong partnership which now encompasses political exchange, economic development, security cooperation and innovation collaboration,” said Australian Ambassador Mr Craig Chittick.
In November 2017, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull agreed to enhance the bilateral relationship to the level of Strategic Partnership. The Partnership will represent a new chapter in the relationship and enable the two countries to work more closely together on a range of issues, including defence, trade, investment, development, education, labor, tourism, law, finance, information and communication.
"Based on a strong foundation and building on concrete activities (particularly those in this anniversary year), Vietnam-Australia’s Enhanced Comprehensive Partnership will be further advanced in the coming time, both bilaterally and at the regional and international level, towards a Strategic Partnership; meeting the desire and the interests of our peoples and, for peace, cooperation and prosperity in Asia-Pacific and the world," said Vietnamese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Dinh Quy.
The beginning of the 45th anniversary year was marked today by the launch of a 45th anniversary commemorative logo and presentation of nine introductory panels to the Temple of Literature of Vietnam.
The 45th anniversary commemorative logo features Australia’s iconic Sydney Opera House and the star of the Vietnamese flag. The logo’s 24 year-old amateur designer, Mr Nguyen Viet Hung, said that creation of the logo was inspired by his first memories of Australia and the participation of the Vietnamese sporting team at the Sydney Olympic Games 2000.
The winning logo was selected from a competition organised by the Australian Embassy and Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2017. The competition received over 150 entries from designers across Vietnam.
Reflecting the friendship between the two countries, the Australian Ambassador officially presented nine introductory panels to the Temple of Literature. The panels will support tourism at one of the most important historical sites of Hanoi, providing information about the rich history to visitors in three languages. This project built on the success of a similar project in 2016 in which Australia presented 14 bilingual introductory panels to the Thang Long Citadel, another historical site of Vietnam.
“We are really grateful of the Australian Government’s meaningful gift which enables us to better preserve and promote the Temple of Literature. Each introductory panel is a concise brief on a section of the Temple and all together, they tell the whole story about our invaluable historical site,” said the Director of the Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam, Dr Le Xuan Kieu. “Through these introductory panels, visitors can come to understand the history and significance of the Temple of Literature,” said the Director.
Australia will celebrate the 45th anniversary throughout 2018 with a program ranging from cultural to trade and economic events. The highlights include the opening of the Cao Lanh Bridge and the Australian Government’s third Taste of Australia event.