The Vietnamese Embassy in the US celebrated the 69th anniversary ofNational Day (September 2) with a ceremony held in Washington on August27.

The event was attended by 300 representatives of the USgovernment and congress, representatives of embassies of ASEANcountries, members of the Vietnamese community and the businesscommunity.
Addressing the ceremony, Vietnamese AmbassadorNguyen Quoc Cuong said since Vietnam’s independence was declared onSeptember 2, 1945, the country had achieved numerous successes in nationbuilding and defence.

He reflected on the accomplishments ofVietnam – US relations since bilateral ties were promoted to acomprehensive partnership in 2013, listing an array of interactions,such as the visits to Vietnam undertaken by US State Secretary JohnKerry, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Chairman of the Joint Chiefsof Staff of the US Army General Martin Dempsey, and US senators.

CongratulatingVietnam on its National Day, Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary ofState for East Asian and Pacific Affairs highlighted the development ofVietnam – US relations, adding that both countries will continue toexpand cooperation in times ahead.

He expressed his hope thatbilateral ties will thrive in the future as the nations prepare forcelebrating the 20 th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomaticrelations and the 40th anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam in2015.-VNA