Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Ly Duc Trung. (Photo: VOV/via VNA)

The newly-appointed Ambassador made the statement after presenting his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

In a reception hosted by President Herzog, Ambassador Trung expressed his honour at taking the position, saying he will make active contributions to strengthening friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnam and Israel will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year (1993 – 2023), he noted, adding that he expects the two sides will increase all-level delegation exchanges and organise celebrations on this occasion to take their bilateral ties to a new height.

The finalisation of bilateral free trade and labour cooperation agreements, and the launch of direct flights will help accelerate people-to-people exchanges between Vietnam and Israel and open new opportunities for cooperation for their business communities, he said.

President Herzog showed his interest in reinforcing bilateral relations, particularly on the occasion of the 30th anniversary.

He expected to step up people-to-people exchanges with Vietnam through tourist and business visits, and that the two sides could enhance academic exchanges to look at complex strategic competition among global powers and current insecurity.

Vietnam has a very important position in Israel’s foreign policy, he emphasised.

He said that he will host more meetings with the new Vietnamese ambassador to discuss ways to bolster ties between the two countries.