Temple of Literature, Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hà Nội
Friday, July 3, 2015
9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
REMARKS
Deputy PM Phạm Bình Minh;
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoàng Tuấn Anh;
VUFO President Vũ Xuân Hồng;
VUS President, Ambassador Nguyễn Tâm Chiến;
Other distinguished guests.
Good morning and thank you for organizing this historic event.
I would like to recognize VUFO for its continued efforts, often in partnership with the U.S. Mission to Vietnam, to strengthen people-to-people relations between our two countries.
We deeply appreciate all you have done and look forward to our continued collaboration in this important work.
We are here today to commemorate those relations in an especially meaningful way in the context of a year-long celebration of the 20th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Mindful of the saying: “one picture is worth 1,000 words,” I note the invaluable role these photographs play in helping us understand each other better.
More than just record of a moment, these photos tell a broader story about our two countries and their people, both proud in their cultures and traditions.
This exhibition will contribute to our shared goal of building better and stronger relations between our nations by serving as a bridge to help connect people across the ocean; to bring us closer together.
I congratulate all the photographers of these wonderful works of art, and I’m proud that the U.S. Government could help sponsor this exhibition.
Let me close by saying that as we celebrate 20 years of normal relations, let’s take a moment to recognize how far we have come – and to realize that there is no limit in how far we can go.
As Ambassador Pete Peterson noted nearly 20 years ago, and as the history of our relationship shows, “nothing is impossible.”
Thank you.
