(VOV) – The Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Ho Dac Minh Nguyet hosted on Friday a reception celebrating the 65th anniversary of Vietnam-Slovakia diplomatic relations. In her statement, Ambassador Minh Nguyet said the Vietnamese people have always remembered the fine sentiments as well as valuable and effective assistance Slovakia provided during the past struggles for national independence as well as the current national construction and development process. Over recent years, the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries have blossomed in various realms, notably in political relations. Both sides have attached high importance to spurring cooperation in economics, trade, investment, energy, science and technology, education, training, human resources training, tourism, and culture. State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Peter Burian in turn said his nation appreciates Vietnam’s international profile and its support for the European Union (EU)’s expanded cooperation with ASEAN to achieve greater market penetration in the region. Slovakia backs the early completion of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) negotiations thus bringing ample cooperation opportunities to both sides, he said. The Slovak diplomat hailed the positive contributions made by the Vietnamese community in Slovakia to the development of the traditional friendship and all-around cooperation between the two peoples. The embassy used the occasion to introduce the essence of Vietnamese traditional food and hold a photo exhibition featuring the history of bilateral relations over the past 65 years. The stronger development of Slovakia-Vietnam political relations will help expand bilateral economic cooperation in the future with more and more businesses from the two nations making inroads into each other’s market, Peter Burian added.