Trinidad and Tobago now has diplomatic relations with Vietnam

ON February 1 Trinidad and Tobago established diplomatic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during a signing ceremony at the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN, New York.

In a release, the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom affairs said TT and Vietnam agreed establishing diplomatic relations provides an excellent platform for further cementing relations between them, including strengthening co-operation on critical issues of global importance, such as international peace and security, tourism, food security, climate change, culture and sports and sustainable development.

New York-based permanent representative of TT to the UN Dennis Francis signed the joint communiqué on behalf of TT, and Vietnams's permanent representative Dang Hoàng Giang signed on behalf of Vietnam.

Witnesses included senior members of staff of both permanent missions.

Befor the signing ceremony, Dennis Francis and Hoàng Gian met and recalled the strong ties of friendship and co-operation that already exist between the two states in both bilateral and multilateral contexts.

Both are members of the bloc of developing countries in the UN, the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Group of 77 (G-77) was established in June 1964 by 77 developing countries signatories of the Joint Declaration of the 77 Developing Countries issued at the end of the first session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

The Non-Aligned Movement is a forum of 120 countries and are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It is the largest grouping of states worldwide after the UN.