<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Bangladesh and Vietnam will keep moving side by side towards realising their visions to become upper-middle-income countries by 2030 and developed nations in the early 2040s, living up to the dreams of President Ho Chi Minh and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said the Vietnam Embassy in Dhaka.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Pham Viet Chien and the embassy staff will visit and lay floral wreaths at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi 32 on Saturday morning to pay tribute to Bangladesh's Father of the Nation, who is the architect of setting up the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The programme marking the golden jubilee of Bangladesh-Vietnam diplomatic relations will also see the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On 11 February 1973, Vietnam and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, ushering in an era of excellent traditional friendship between the countries based on historical similarities and shared values of independence, peace, cooperation and development, said the Embassy of Vietnam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The trade volume approached $1.5 billion in 2022, recording an impressive 75-fold growth in the last 20 years and a four-fold increase in the last 10 years (nearly $20 million in 2002 and $350 million in 2012).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the story of solidarity and companionship between the two friendly countries had even begun much earlier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Right after Bangladesh gained independence in March 1971, Vietnam was one of the first nations to recognise it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, Bangladeshi people and leaders, especially Bangabandhu expressed strong support for the Vietnamese people's struggle for national freedom, independence and reunification of the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the past 50 years, relations between the two countries have been consolidated and strengthened gradually, especially through exchanges of high-level visits, such as Bangladesh visits of President Tran Dai Quang in 2018, President Tran Duc Luong in 2004, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet in 1997, and Consultative Council of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Viet Nam Chairman of Nguyễn Hữu Thọ in 1974.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid visited Vietnam in 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2012, and Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in 2017.]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During these visits, a good number of bilateral agreements were signed and cooperation mechanisms were established, which have given significant impetus to further bolster the bilateral cooperation to be more substantive and effective. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>