VUS continues to bring ambassadors of friendship to Vietnam

Friendship Force Honolulu (FFH) club is a member of the Friendship Force International (FFI). The team is on a visit to Vietnam from April 12 to 28.

At the meeting, Vice President of VUS, Bui The Giang extended warm welcome for the delegations, especially those coming to Vietnam for the first time. 

On behalf of VUS, he gave FFH delegates a brief introduction about the significant development of the country in terms of economics, society and politic, such as the establishment of diplomatic relations with 187 countries and territories; bidding for non-permanent membership of UN Security Council tenure 2020-2021; GDP value of 2017 achieves the highest in the last 10 years (6.8%), mass number of newly registered startups, etc.

VUS Vice President Bui The Giang receives FFH members on April 16 (photo: Phi Yen)

However, on its development pathway, Vietnam is still facing numerous obstacles, especially post-war issues, said VUS Vice President. According to him, over 40 years after the end of the war, the country is still coping with three serious challenges, which are:  Agent Orange/Dioxin, Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs) and missing-in-action soldiers (MIA),

At the same time, he highlighted the supports Vietnam has received from international friends, including US, in settling war consequences, citing the example of the two dioxin remediation projects in Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang) and Bien Hoa Airport (Dong Nai province), sponsored by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

VUS vice president also took the occasion to extend his appreciation and thankfulness to the various veterans associations in US for providing valuable data to assist Vietnam in finding the remains of fallen soldiers in the war.

FFH members listen to VUS Vice President's sharing about war consequences in Vietnam (photo: Phi Yen)

Representative of FFH, Sharon Lavenberg, for her part, appreciated VUS Vice President Bui The Giang's valuable sharings which gave FFH members a comprehensive view of Vietnam’s restoration and development after the war.

Lavenberg said this is the second time she has visited Vietnam. In her eyes, compared to what she observed in the first trip to the country 19 years ago, the vigorous growth of Vietnam is truly impressive.

FFH members and VUS Vice President posed for picture (photo: Phi Yen)

During the first four days of the journey in Vietnam, FFH team has explored local culture via the homestay model with friendly Vietnamese people, taken part in memorable visit to the Friendship Village, the Museum of Ethnology, Ho Chi Minh Complex and Ha Long Bay. These trips has been nourishing FFH members' love for the S-shape country.

In the coming days, FFH will continue to explore Vietnam via various visits to famous sights of interest including Sapa Town, Hoi An Ancient Town, Cu Chi tunnel, as well as working with the Union of Friendship Organizations (Da Nang, Hue).

FFI is a non-profit cultural organization focused on promoting understanding, cultural education and people-to-people diplomacy through homestay journeys and personal friendships.

FFI member clubs are based in more than 60 countries, with 15,000 active members and over 300 exchange journeys taking place each year.

In nearly 20 years, VUS and FFI has been maintaining a close relationship. The two organizations jointly conducts various meaningful exchange activities to reinforce the friendship between the American and Vietnamese peoples, especially via the “homestay” model, which allows the participants to fully immerse in the host country's culture.

The exchange has been playing a significant role in strengthening two sides’ mutual understandings and nurturing cross-border friendship./.

VNF