SOCIETY 372 /2017

VIETNAM
INTERVIEW
45 years of Vietnamese-
Austrian friendship
The year 2017 marked the 45th year anniversary of the diplomatic
relations between Austria and Vietnam. SOCIETY spoke with
Ambassador H.E. Vu Viet Anh about this friendship, his love for
Vienna and the trade exchange between both countries.
In November 2014, your post as ambassador
brought you to Austria – how
have your experiences been so far?
I am honoured to be appointed as Ambassador
of Vietnam to Austria and Permanent
Representative of Vietnam to the
IAEA and other international organizations in
Vienna. As one of the world’s top cities with lively
diplomatic activities and host city to hundreds of
foreign missions, Vienna is the centre of leading
diplomats with diversified and interesting professional
lives. The most important task of a diplomat
is to maximize his/her national interests by
bilateral and multilateral diplomatic activities. A
diplomat’s life is eventful with exchanges, meetings
and receptions. To some, such a life would be
boring. To me however, it is a great opportunity
brought to me by Vienna. Why? Because thanks
to those activities, I earn knowledge, experience
and make new friends, those who share with me
a desire in promoting the Vietnamese-Austrian
friendship, as well as developing a relationship
between Vietnam and other countries.
What are the most important achievements
that you have made so far?
My prevalent priority is to bring the Vietnamese-Austrian
relationship to a sustainable and
comprehensive level, being intensive and effective,
especially in the field of trade and economic
cooperation.
I am contented to note that over the past 3
years, the Vietnamese-Austrian trade relationship
has leaped outstandingly with an annual
average rise of 15 percent, from 2.1 billion USD in
2013 to 3 billion in 2016.
Furthermore, the year 2017 marks the 45th anniversary
of the establishment of the diplomatic
relations between Vietnam and Austria. We have
cooperated with relevant Vietnamese agencies
and Austrian authorities to organize the Vietnam
»Though being
one of the
first Western
countries to
establish diplomatic
relations
with Vietnam,
Austria‘s investment
to
Vietnam is still
modest (...)
«
Vu Viet Anh
Culture Day event at the Vienna Rathaus from
3rd to 6th July this year. Through the traditional
art and music performance, namely “Colours of
Vietnam” and the photo exhibition “Vietnam –
the World’s destination in 2017”, organized within
the framework of the Vietnamese Culture Day,
Austrian and international friends have opportunities
to further understand Vietnam’s history,
culture, art and landscape.
In your previous posts you served as Attaché
at the Vietnamese missions in the United States
of America and Russia, how would you describe
the differences of everyday life of a diplomat?
A diplomat’s life is to spend years of being
away from the homeland with the willingness to
adapt to different cultures, codes of conduct and
working methods. However, no matter where he
is posted, the task of establishing and developing
the relationship between Vietnam and the host
country remains unchanged. Nevertheless, while
Moscow and Washington are areas where I needed
to focus on promoting bilateral relationships, Vienna
is different with its own characteristics. In
addition to advancing the Vietnamese-Austrian
relationship, I am the Permanent Representative
of Vietnam to the United Nations, IAEA and other
international organizations in Vienna. Having
both to undertake bilateral diplomatic task and
participate in multilateral mechanism, life of a
diplomat in Vienna is very busy, somewhat challenging.
However, this is also a good opportunity
for him/her to perform his/her best capacity and
knowledge in serving his/her nation’s interests.
What can you tell us about the tradition of
bilateral relationship between Austria and Vietnam?
In 1972, when the war in Vietnam was still
going on, Austria was among the first Western
countries to establish diplomatic relations with ➢
Fotos: society/pobaschnig
38 | SOCIETY 2_2017