Honorary Consulate Office of Vietnam in Dublin makes debut
VOV.VN - The Vietnamese Embassy in the UK held a ceremony on July 11 to inaugurate the Honorary Consulate Office of Vietnam in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland.
In his opening speech at the inauguration ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK and the Republic of Ireland Nguyen Hoang Long expressed his confidence that the opening of the Honorary Consulate Office was an important step towards further enhancing the effectiveness of political, trade, investment, educational, scientific, and technological relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Ireland, helping to maintain and deepen the friendship between their people.
The bilateral trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges have been strengthened in recent times. The Republic of Ireland provided roughly 5.6 million EUR in ODA for Vietnam in 2021, and around 6.3 million EUR in 2022. There is a growing number of Vietnamese students pursuing higher education in the European nation.
Sean Fleming, Minister of State at the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, said over the past 27 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have boosted closer cooperation and achieved many accomplishments. The Republic of Ireland always regards Vietnam an important partner in Asia, he said.
Vietnam-Ireland trade exceeded 985 million EUR last year, and Ireland hopes to see the growing trend and to capitalise on potential to enhance trade links
Fleming highlighted the inauguration of the Honorary Consulate Office as an important milestone to further propel the relationship forwards in the time ahead.
Honorary Consul Patrick Gerard McKillen expressed his honor to hold the post and pledged his best efforts to fulfil tasks assigned to the consulate.
The office is set to carry out citizen protection affairs, support the Vietnamese community in the Republic of Ireland, enhance the introduction and promotion of Vietnam and its people in Dublin in particular and the Republic of Ireland in general, helping to push up the bilateral cooperation across a variety of fields.
On this occasion, Long also had a meeting with representatives of the Vietnamese expatriate community in the Republic of Ireland, which consists of about 5,000 people, and visited Minh Tam Pagoda – the first Vietnamese temple in the country, which was inaugurated in May this year.
Earlier, in May, Patrick Gerard McKillen, a renowned Irish businessman with many years of attachment with Vietnam, was appointed as the first Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Dublin.