On Monday morning, Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Tran Tho played host to some foreign diplomats who were visiting to extend their Tet wishes to the city’s leaders. 

During a reception for the US Ambassador to Viet Nam, Mr Ted Osius, Secretary Tho said he hoped that the Ambassador would act as a bridge in fostering cooperative ties between Da Nang and some localities in the USA, as well as introducing the city’s business climate to more US businesses. 

He added that a series of meaningful activities will be organised in the city to mark the 20^th anniversary of the normalisation of US-Viet Nam relations (1995-2015).

US Ambassador Ted Osius (left) and Secretary Tho

In reply, Mr Osius pledged to make every effort during his tenure to ensure that the USA will soon take the lead among worldwide countries and territories investing in Viet Nam from its current 5^th position. 

The US diplomat also took the opportunity to thank the Da Nang authorities for actively joining with the US government to implement the “Removal of Dioxin Contamination” project at Da Nang International Airport.  He also spoke highly of the city’s active involvement in searching for the remains of US soldiers listed as missing in action during the Viet Nam War.  Mr Osius promised that his country would assist Da Nang and other central region localities in coping with any natural disasters in the years ahead.

In a separate meeting with Russian Consul General Valentin M Dikushin, Secretary Tho highlighted the comprehensive strategic partnership between Viet Nam and Russia.  The host also expressed his appreciation of the important role of the Consul General in promoting bilateral cooperation between Da Nang and many Russian localities.  Most notably, recent years have seen an increasing number of Russian tourists coming to the city.

While receiving Laotian Consul General Phommaseng Khamsene, Secretary Tho affirmed that Da Nang has seen positive results from the bilateral cooperative programmes with some central-southern provinces of Laos, although the city borders none of them. 

He added that special attention has been paid to accelerating the deployment of support projects for these localities.  In particular, the University of Da Nang has effectively implemented numerous preferential policies for Laotian students over recent years.

The city leader also asked the Laotian diplomat to continue his efforts to further deepen the bilateral cooperation between Da Nang and the many localities in Laos.