The event drew a crowd of some 500 people, including representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and other ministries and agencies of Canada, the Canada-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group, the Vietnamese Embassy, the Vietnamese Commercial Affairs Office in Canada, the Vietnam News Agency and the Vietnamese community in Canada.

Addressing the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Le Sy Vuong expressed his hope that bilateral ties between the two countries would continue to be strengthened in the coming years, especially at a time when the two countries will mark the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2013.

Earlier, the first Vietnam-Guangdong Economic, Trade and Tourism Forum was organised in Guangzhou, China, on Tuesday by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Guangzhou, in partnership with the provincial Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and other branches and agencies of the province.

Part of activities to mark Vietnam’s National Day, the forum drew hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese businesses.

On the special occasion, Paxaxon newspaper of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, on Sept. 1 ran an article praising Vietnam ’s admirable victories in each period.

The article recalled the resounding triumphs of the Vietnamese people during the August Revolution 66 years ago, commanded by President Ho Chi Minh.

The victory and the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, marked a great milestone in the nation’s history, the article said.

The article went on to comment that the Vietnamese people’s victories from Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1945 to the Ho Chi Minh campaign in the spring of 1975 helped to achieve national reunification.

From then on, under the leadership of the Party and the Government, the Vietnamese people have gained significant achievements, especially in the cause and the process of industrialisation, modernisation and international integration, the article said.

The article also applauded the sound and lucid leadership of the Vietnamese Party and Government who worked to pull the country out of the financial crisis and ensure the growth rate exceeded the set target, helping to heighten the country’s position and prestige in the world arena.