Australian performance marks 40 years of diplomatic ties
(VOV) - Australia’s Bangara Dance Theatre performed at the Hanoi Opera House on March 2, marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Australia.
The celebration’s attendees included Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman, along with a number of Vietnamese Ministers and former ambassadors from both nations.
Australia Ambassador Borrowman said the celebration programme shows the rapid development of the bilateral relations, encapsulating Australia’s creativity in expanding cultural exchanges and broadening cooperation between the two governments.
In a message sent to the programme, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that despite their different cultures and histories, Vietnam and Australia cooperate on the basis of mutual benefit and mutual respect.
Vietnam has become one of Australia’s important regional partners thanks to strong trade ties, educational exchanges, and development aid for Vietnam.
FM Binh Minh spoke highly of Australia’s history of extending ODA to Vietnam, significantly contributing to the country’s infrastructure development, education and training, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development.
History’s ups and downs will not impede the flourishing friendship between Vietnam and Australia from growing ever deeper for mutual reward and for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, Minh said.
The performance sought inspiration in the 40,000-year-old stories of Australia’s aboriginal people and was accompanied by modern adaptations of traditional dances and music.