Pretoria (VNA) – The Embassy ofVietnam in South Africa kicked off a painting exhibition in Pretoria on May 8, drawinga large number of visitors from foreign embassies, international organisationsand art lovers in the country.

The exhibition, which will run until May10, is part of activities to celebrate the 25th founding anniversary ofVietnam-South Africa diplomatic relations.

It showcases 16 oil paintings by painterDoan Hong, who has spent nearly 20 years drawing paintings about the lives in Vietnam’scoastal areas.

In his opening speech, VietnameseAmbassador to South Africa Vu Van Dung said the exhibition not only marks 25 yearsof diplomatic ties between the two countries and but also introduces the beautyof Vietnam’s coastline of more than 3,000km to international friends and SouthAfrican people in particular.

In addition to bilateral high-rankingvisits, various cultural exchange events will be organised this year ascelebrations of Vietnam-South Africa diplomatic relations, the diplomat added.

Vietnam and South Africa officiallyestablished diplomatic ties on December 22, 1993. Since then, the two nationshave been strengthening bilateral relations in various fields, especiallytrade.

Two-way trade grew from just 192 millionUSD in 2007 to over 1.5 billion USD in 2017. Vietnam and South Africa arestriving to lift bilateral trade to 2 billion USD in the coming time.-VNA