Russian envoy receives culture, sports insignia

HA NOI — The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Friday presented the insignia "For the Cause of Culture, Sports and Tourism" to Russian Ambassador Andrey G. Kovtun.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh spoke highly of the Russian ambassador's contributions to developing culture, sports and tourism co-operation between the two countries.

The two countries had organised a number of Russian cultural days in Viet Nam and Vietnamese days in Russia, he said, adding that Russia was now one of the top 10 markets of Viet Nam's tourism.

Anh said he hoped Ambassador Kovtun would continue working to support Viet Nam in cultural and art training and provide scholarships for Vietnamese postgraduates.

He also hoped the Russian Government would help promote the number of Russian tourists to Viet Nam to 300,000 by 2014.

For his part, Ambassador Kovtun vowed to make more efforts in strengthening the friendship and co-operation between the two countries, especially in the field of culture, sports and tourism. — VNS