A ceremony to mark the 40^th anniversary year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Germany (1975-2015) was held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 24.

The 2015 Viet Nam- Germany year will see a myriad of political and socio-cultural activities to be held across Viet Nam, with the highlight to be a German festival scheduled for March 28.

Anke Stahl, the Director of the DAAD Regional Office in Ha Noi, said that in the past 40 years, Vietnamese students who studied and worked in Germany had made great contributions to bilateral relations.

She said the DAAD in Ha Noi has planned numerous activities in the anniversary year, which include organising meetings of those who used to study and work in Germany, facilitating collaboration between Vietnamese and German universities and granting scholarships for outstanding students.