AsemconnectVietnam -  The Embassy of Vietnam in South Africa kicked off a painting exhibition in Pretoria on May 8, drawing a large number of visitors from foreign embassies, international organisations and art lovers in the country.

The exhibition, which will run until May 10, is part of activities to celebrate the 25th founding anniversary of Vietnam-South Africa diplomatic relations.

It showcases 16 oil paintings by painter Doan Hong, who has spent nearly 20 years drawing paintings about the lives in Vietnam’s coastal areas. 

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

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

Vietnam and South Africa officially established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1993. Since then, the two nations have been strengthening bilateral relations in various fields, especially trade.

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

Source:VNA