Attending the Congress were Vice President Nguyen Thi Hoang Van of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), Vice Chairman, Communist Party’s Central Commission for Popularization and Education, Head of the Founding Committee of VSFA Pham Van Linh, Vice Chairman, Communist Party’s Central Commission for External Relations Nguyen Tuan Phong, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan, Lieutenant General Do Duc Tue, Political Director of the National Defence Academy and Venerable Thich Duc Thien,Secretary General of the Vietnam National Buddhist Sangha. On the Sri Lanka side, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Vietnam H.E. Ivan Amarasinghe and Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka – Vietnam Solidarity Association (SVSA) S. Sudasinghe also attended the meeting.
The congress has approved the Association’s charter and a plan of action for the 2014-2019 period. It has elected a 23-member Executive Board with Pham Van Linh as Chaiman and Nguyen Hoanh Son and Venerable Thich Duc Thien as vice chairmen.
Addressing the congress, the new VSFA Chaiman emphasized the role of the association as an important channel to strengthen and expand the traditional bonds of friendship, mutual understanding between Vietnam and Sri Lanka and theirs peoples. Linh also called for the consolidation and efforts from the Executive Board members on working together and contributing to the enhancement of mutual understanding and florishing multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Ambassador of Sri Lanca to Vietnam, H.E. Ivan Amarasinghe wished the congress success in highlighting the long time traditional bonds of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The ambassador vowed to work closely with VSFA and VUFO in order to promote “the friendly relationship that have beeing cultivated and developed by generations of the two countries‘ leaders”, said he.
At the event, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Solidarity Association (SVSA) S. Sudasinghe was conferred Order of Friendship, a noble award of the State of Vietnam to recognize his significant contributions to the development of friendship between the two peoples. “The establishment of VSFA has proved the development of the two countries‘ relations. The two friendship associations will closely coordinate to conduct mutual activities for further enhancing understanding and friendship between the two peoples”, said Sudashinghe.
In the framework of the first founding Congress, VSFA and SVSA also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two associations.
Tran Duc Minh
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