Rome (VNA) – Vietnam always treasures and wants to further develop its friendly and cooperative relations with San Marino, especially in the fields of tourism, culture, heritage conservation and technology, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy and San Marino Duong Hai Hung has said.

Hung on October 20 presented Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's letter of credentials to Maria Luisa Berti II and Manuel Ciavatta I, Captains Regent of the Republic of San Marino.

While congratulating important socio-economic achievements of San Marino, Hung said that, in his new position, he will do his best to fulfill his duties, helping to promote the growing cooperation between the two countries based on the good friendship since they established diplomatic relations in 2007.

The ambassador expressed satisfaction at starting his mandate in the context that the two n😼ations are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the signing of the agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations. He emphasised that cultural and economic diplomacy will be effective ways to promote mutual understanding and open opportunities for connection between the agencies and companies of the two sides.

For their part, the Captains Regent expressed their deep impressions on the "Silk and San Marino" cultural event held by the Embassy of Vietnam, and highly valued the effective cooperation between the embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of San Marino in the successful organisation of activities to mark the 15th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. They stressed thatthese are concrete steps to strengthen the friendly relations between the two nations' people and create momentum for the two sides to continue promoting theircooperation in the coming time.

Foreign Minister of San Marino Luca Beccari, who also attended the ceremony, highly appreciated the growing position and role of Vietnam in the region and in multilateral forums.

Highlighting the good friendship between the two countries despite their geographical distance, as well as the close cooperation and mutual support at multilateral forums, he expressed his hope that the two countries would continue promoting cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels, in order to promote common interests and respond effectively to global challenges.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Ambassador held working sessions with Foreign Minister Luca Beccari, Minister of Culture Andrea Belluzzi and Minister of Industry Fabio Righi, during which they introduced the priorities and policies of each country and discussed bilateral cooperation measures.

Also, as part of the activities to celebrate the 15th founding anniversary of the diplomatic relations, the ambassador presented 15 publications from two Vietnamese publishers, including major works on President Ho Chi Minh, history, culture, the country and the people, and the foreign policy of Vietnam, to the Minister of Culture and the National Library of San Marino.

The ambassador also received a gift of 15 books presenting the history, country and people ofꦗ San Marino./.