Speech by Vietnam ambassador on the occasion of Vietnam national day
Salam Alaykum, let me, first of all, welcome you all to our reception tonight. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us in celebrating the 73rd national day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The establishment of the new Vietnam on September 2nd, 1945 opened up an era of independence and development in our history. Over the past 73 years, especially during recent thirty years of reforms, Vietnam has transformed itself from a war-torn country into a thriving and vibrant economy and an attractive destination for foreign investment and tourists.
This year, the World Bank forecasts that our economy will grow at 6.8%. The Asian Development Bank expects the figure will be even higher, 7.1%. In the first 8 months of this year, we received 25 billion USD in foreign direct investment and welcomed more than 10 million international holidaymakers. Vietnam has also been a responsible partner for regional and international security and development through its active membership in ASEAN, APEC and other multilateral organizations.
Those achievements could not have been possible without valuable support and cooperation from countries and organizations of which you are representatives. Taking this opportunity, we would like to thank you once again for the friendship and assistance that your countries and organizations have rendered to Vietnam in our past struggle for national independence as well as in today’s development process.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my special thanks to the leaders, people and friends of Kuwait for their leadership in and contribution to strengthening our bilateral relations over the years. In particular, I am delighted to see new progress made in our bilateral cooperation in the past year. In this regard, I would like to update you that the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemicals, the landmark, more than 9 billion USD project and symbol of Vietnam-Kuwait cooperation, is now at the final stage of commissioning, having consumed 24 million barrels of crude oil from Kuwait and will soon start commercial operation by the end of this year.
Progress in our bilateral cooperation in the past year can also be seen through the increase in the exchange delegations in both directions, many of those are the firsts. These include the first visit to Vietnam by H.E. Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Ali Sulaiman Al-Saeed for bilateral political consultation in April; the first ever exchange of visits by officers of Kuwait National Guard and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam in April and September respectively; also the first visit to Kuwait in April by the Governor of Thanh Hoa province, which is home to the oil refinery; and another the first visit by the Governor of HCM City of Vietnam to Kuwait later this month.
My list of the firsts can go on but I just want to mention one more, this is not a governmental visit but it is a very special one. This is the first ever visit to Vietnam at my invitation by Kuwait’s number one travel blogger, Mr. Hani Almousawi, who I believe is well known to many Kuwaitis and who has so kindly and graciously agreed to help me introduce Vietnam to more and more people in Kuwait. He will go in two weeks’ time. And I am so happy to have Mr. Hani Almousawi with us tonight. Thank you, Hani, for your very kind help. My one-year experience in Kuwait is that people will listen to you less after 5 minutes and a lot less after 7 minutes. Now, I am already in my sixth and a half. So, let me end my remarks here. Thank you for your attention. Sukran and enjoy the rest of your evening.
The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) recently received a medical team from the Mowasat Hospital to conduct medical tests for the bank’s employees at its main headquarters. Speaking on the occasion, CBK’s deputy director, Amani Al-Wer’a said that the visit came as part of the bank’s social responsibilities towards its own employees. She added that employees underwent a quick general check up for two days.