At a meeting on June 17 in Hanoi with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, Mr Christophides praised Vietnam’s achievements in socio-economic development and its efforts in successfully organising major international events. He said he hoped that with its experience and capability, Vietnam will successfully organise the 8^th WFUCA Conference slated for next year.

Mr Khiem spoke highly of the close cooperation between WFUCA and the Union of UNESCO organisations in Vietnam, which has obtained good results.

WFUCA’s selection of Vietnam as the location for the 8^th WFUCA Conference in 2011 showed its confidence in the country’s ability to organise this important event.

Regarding relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Khiem said that Vietnam has followed and admired Cyprus’s achievements over the past years and wants to increase cooperation with Cyprus in every field, particularly in trade, labour and investment.