Receiving Sri Lankan Ambassador Kalahe Gamage Ivan Amarasinghe, Vietnamese Government chief Nguyễn Tấn Dũng recommended the diplomat spare no effort in his term to lift the bilateral relations and work with Vietnamese competent agencies to launch practical activities towards the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2010.

Sharing many similarities, both Việt Nam, chair of ASEAN in 2010, and Sri Lanka, chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), have wide doors for further cooperation, said Ambassador Kalahe Amarasinghe.

Sri Lanka hopes Vietnamese enterprises to strengthen their involvement in petroleum activities there, said Mr. Kalahe Amarasinghe.

On the same day, hosting a reception to Greek Ambassador Rose Ieremia, PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng extended his sympathy with the Greek people over difficulties caused by the current financial crisis there and hoped that the Southeast European country would early get out of the slum.

PM Dũng also suggested Ambassador Rose Ieremia, in collaboration with Vietnamese competent agencies, put the signed agreements into reality and negotiate for new accords on anti-double taxation and marine transport.

For her part, Ambassador Rose Ieremia pledged to spur the bilateral links, especially in economic and tourism domains.

By Hương Giang