BUDAPEST — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng and his entourage on September 9 visited Szentendre – an ancient city on the bank of the Danube River in Pest County, about 20km from Hungarian capital Budapest.

The Vietnamese Party chief is on an official visit to Hungary from September 8-11 at the invitation of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Szentendre city is known as the land of painters, with many museums and photo galleries.

During his stay in the city, Party leader Trọng met with Mayor of Szentendre Verseghi-Nagy Miklos, who gave a warm welcome to the Vietnamese delegation.

Host and guest highlighted the traditional friendship between the two nations, which has been expanded in recent years.

The two sides have exchanged many high-ranking delegations and promoted fruitful cooperation across spheres, especially economy, science, education and training, they said, noting that many Vietnamese officials, doctors and engineers have been trained in Hungary.

Szentendre set up relations with Hội An in Quảng Nam Province in south-central Việt Nam, the mayor said, expressing his impression on the hospitality of the Vietnamese people.

He voiced his belief that the visit made by Party leader Trọng will contribute to enhancing the friendship and cooperation between his country and Việt Nam.

The Party chief thanked the municipal authorities and people for their warm welcome, expressing his delight to have a chance to visit Szentendre – a city with rich history, peaceful atmosphere and charming architectural works.

He said that his visit to Hungary aims to bolster all-round cooperation between the two nations, including cultural exchanges and collaboration between their localities.

The Việt Nam-Hungary traditional friendship, an invaluable asset of the two countries, needs to be preserved and passed to future generations, he underlined.

The Party General Secretary stressed that the Southeast Asian nation has been grateful for Hungary’s support during national protection and construction. Thousands of Vietnamese officials and engineers received training in the central European country, many of them now holding important positions in the State apparatus, he added.

He expressed his belief that the bilateral cooperation will further develop in the fields of politics-diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, culture and tourism.

Also, he lauded collaboration between Szentendre and Hội An, hoping that their cooperation will be bolstered in an effective and practical manner in the future.

Sharing experience in the preservation of heritages and tourism development as well as cultural and art exchanges will make significant contributions to deepening the Việt Nam-Hungary traditional friendship. — VNS