The congress elected a 62-strong executive board led by former Chairmanof the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao.
During the 2013-2020 tenure, the VPFA coordinated with the PolishEmbassy in Vietnam to hold 15 or so events each year, such as celebrations forthe Constitution Day of Poland (May 3), National Independence Day of Poland(November 11), gatherings with ambassadors and staff from the Polish Embassy beforeand after Vietnam’s traditional New Year festival (Tet), and friendshipexchanges with visiting Polish officials.
Speaking at the congress, President of the Vietnam Union of FriendshipOrganisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga expressed her hope that the VPFA would furtherdevelop to contribute more to the friendship between the two countries.
Polish Ambassador to Vietnam Wojciech Gerwel thanked the VPFA and theVietnamese Association in Poland for offering medical support to the Polishpeople amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He hoped that the two countries’ younger generationswill follow in the footsteps of their predecessors to reinforce all-around bilateralties.
During the 2020-2025 tenure, the VPFA will expand activities in variousareas via people-to-people diplomatic channels, partner with the Polish Embassyto join diplomatic events, maintain close contacts with Vietnamese alumni,especially those who were honoured as Honorary Ambassadors, Consul Generals, oroutstanding students, and promote activities by the Viet-Pol International Cooperation and OverseasEducation Consulting Centre.
Ineconomic, trade, investment, culture, education, and science-technology, theVPFA will actively serve as a bridge to provide information for the twocountries’ businesses to navigate each other’s market.
Itwill also seek non-governmental aid from Poland and meet several EU non-governmentalorganisations to mobilise aid for projects in education-training, culture,science-technology, and dealing with the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin.
Onthe occasion, the VUFO also honoured several collectives and individuals of theVPFA for their outstanding achievements./.