Hanoi (VNA)ꦑ - The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has established cooperative relations with more than 40 news agencies across the globe over the last 75 years, strengthening the country’s external relations and international integration, enhancing the news agency’s prestige on the global arena, and leaving a positive impression on foreign friends.

Sharing her impression of VNA, President of the Argentina-Vietnam Culture Institute Poldi Sosa recalled her memories of Nguyen Khac Thin, the first chief of the VNA Bureau in Chile in the 1970s, when Sosa was a student who joined the movement protesting the US War in Vietnam. Through Thin, Sosa gained a better understanding of the official news agency. Meanwhile, Charly Morales called his time in Vietnam as Chief Representative of Cuba’s Prensa Latina news agency in Hanoi in 2010 as “unforgettable days”. “The Vietnam News Agency helped me become more mature in both my profession and my personality,” he said. The Cuban journalist said that before arriving in Vietnam he shared a college campus with many Vietnamese students who he met again at the VNA headquarters as co-workers. The warm welcome and wholehearted support from his Vietnamese colleagues moved him considerably. “I will never forget the brotherhood,” he said. “ The Vietnam News Agency and Vietnam in general is forever my second home, where I have a special attachment and a longing to return.” Another Prensa Latina reporter, Maylin Vidal, was sent to Argentina, where she made close connections with VNA’s resident correspondents in the host country. They supported each other covering major events involving Vietnam and Cuba, expressing the sincere warmth between the two countries and agencies in difficult times. Regarding her impression of VNA’s growth over the years, Sosa said she has followed its news for the last 50 years, since the first day VNA’s Vietnam Pictorial was published in Latin America. She feels that VNA has changed the way its reporters work. She was surprised by its development, especially in the television area, thanks to modern equipment and professional staff, during a visit to the VNA headquarters in Hanoi. “The Vietnam News Agency lacks nothing compared to other agencies around the world in terms of scale, coverage, and professionalism,” she said. Agreeing with Sosa, Vidal commented that VNA has changed greatly over the years in both the content and form of its news, spreading Vietnam’s image to the world in a fast and lively manner. VNA has among the highest number of publications and diverse content on different platforms among the world’s new agencies, providing easy access to information, especially to those in Latin America, where news of Vietnam was once hard to find, she said. For Morales, the progress of VNA in technology and infrastructure and the diverse ways of reporting news in the digital era is the result of the creativity, sensitiveness, and wise decisions of VNA leaders, securing VNA’s role among major world news agencies. Kuriki Seiichi, a director from Japan’s NHK WORLD-JAPAN, got to know VNA when he was working at the Vietnamese Desk in 1993. VNA experts were invited to work at the desk in 1996, where he formed a positive view of his Vietnamese counterparts. He underlined that the diverse documentary and photo archive of VNA helped him a great deal in building programmes to introduce the country and people of Vietnam to the people of Japan. Leaders from foreign news agencies also expressed their pleasure at partnerships with VNA.

In a message of greetings to VNA on the occasion of its 75^thꩲ anniversary, former General Director of the Laos News Agency (KPL) Sounthone Khanthavong noted that thanks to VNA’s support since 1968, KPL has become stronger in completing its tasks as a national news agency.

Meanwhile, President and CEO of the Republic of Korea’s Yonhap News Agency Cho Sung-boo said VNA has been a valuable friend and strategic partner. President of Japan’s Kyodo news agency Toru Mizutani underlined that VNA plays a central role in the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) and has been an important partner of Kyodo. General Director of Russia’s TASS news agency Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhaylov stressed that, over the past 75 years, VNA has proved its professionalism and influence, winning the trust of audiences at home and around the world. General Director of Mexico’s national news agency NOTIMEX Sanjuana Martinez Montemayor affirmed that it is proud to be a partner of a professional news agency like VNA. Formed on September 15, 1945, VNA is the official news provider of the Party and State of Vietnam. With a contingent of about 2,300 officials, reporters, editors, technicians, and staff in 63 cities and provinces nationwide and in 30 key areas on five continents, VNA currently provides thousands of news stories, articles, and photos for domestic and foreign media outlets each day, serving Party and State leaders and the public with nearly 70 news products in various forms. It also cooperates with more than 40 press agencies worldwide, making effective contributions to ties between Vietnam and countries worldwide during Vietnam’s integration process./.