VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese actress and businesswoman Ly Nha Ky recently paid a three-week visit to Romania as the Romanian Honorary Consul in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ly Nha Ky receives the certificate of Tourism and Culture Ambassador of Gorj County.

As a famous actress, a celebrity and a successful businesswoman, Ky has taken firm steps as the head of the Romanian consular office in Ho Chi Minh City. She was praised as a young consul who has a sharp vision in terms of strategic issues.

During the three-week trip, Ky made a cross-country tour through Romania. She was warmly welcomed by top officials of every province she visited. She spent several days in Gorj County, where she participated in many activities.

Gorj is a historic land, which is famous for many attractions such as the Targu Jiu Park at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains on the banks of the Jiu River, where the artworks of renowned sculptor Constantin Brancusi exist, and the Transalpina Road, which winds its way through valleys and plateaus up to 7,038 feet – a height not reached by any other mountain passage in Romania. 

Gori has many traditional handicraft villages such as hand embroidery, carpet weaving, UNESCO-recognized Tismana and Horezu pottery.  Gorj is also the homeland of the well-known Doina Gorjului music-dancing troupe, which last year participated in the Dak Lak Coffee Festival in Vietnam. 

 Romanian media welcomes the new Honorary Consul from Ho Chi Minh City

Mr. Gheorghe Nichifor, Vice Chairman of the Gorj county council, who visited Vietnam last year to sign a twin-town agreement with Dak Lak Province of Vietnam, invited Ly Nha Ky to be the ambassador for tourism and culture of Gorj County. As a former Vietnam tourism ambassador, Ky will learn about the economy, culture and social situation of Gorj, from which she will make suggestions to connect businesses of Gorj and Vietnam. 

During the time in Romania, Ky learned about Romanian entrepreneurs who are looking for investment opportunities in Vietnam, especially those who want to import Vietnamese coffee to distribute in Romania and those who want to import Vietnamese fruits and agriculture products. 

Local businesses also wan to organize meetings and seminars to better understand about Vietnam. They expressed their hope that the new Romanian Honorary Consul Ly Nha Ky would be an effective bridge between businesses of the two countries. 

Romanian officials were impressed seeing Ly Nha Ky in Rumanian traditional costumes. "Ly Nha Ky has had a long and exhausting journey moving from south to north by car. She had to stop at every province to take photos to advertise Romanian landscape and culture. She also met with local officials and made many effective suggestions," said Mr. Sorin Arjoca, representative of the government of Gorj County. 

Ly Nha Ky in traditional costume of Romania

“Many people thought that she was the daughter of an Honorary Consul because she is too young. We see the respect and love of Ly Nha Ky for Romania. This will also prompt the Vietnam-Romania Friendship Association to promote Vietnam's image in Romania because of what she did in this country," he said.

On her side, Ly Nha Ky made suggestions to Romanian friends, which contributed to promote friendship between the two countries. Ly Nha Ky's speech was also welcomed by the Romanian media. "68 years for a man is the end of life but 68 years for the friendship between the two countries is the good time for a solid relationship, which cannot be broken by anything. I hope that the younger generation in Vietnam will continue to inherit and develop the relationship between the two countries to a new height,"she said.

Romanian officials expressed their belief that Ly Nha Ky would do a good job in promoting economic and tourism cooperation between the two countries because her proposals are very practical. They praised Ly Nha Ky’s success and were proud to have her as the Honorary Consul of Romania in Ho Chi Minh City.

Taking on the new role, Ly Nha Ky believes that she will succeed in the field of diplomacy. "After this trip, I felt more confident as my opinions were respected by Romanian officials, who gave compliments to my views and suggestions even though I have not attended any political or diplomatic courses," she said.

Ly Nha Ky is expected to do a good job in promoting tourism and economic cooperation between the two countries

During her time in Romania, Ky met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Teodor Melescanu and his wife, and Mr. Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania, at a banquet held on the Traditional Day of Rumanian Foreign Affairs. She was also hosted by the Minister of Trade and Business Environment Mr. Radu Oprea; Minister of Culture Mr. Stefan Rab; and Minister of Tourism Ms. Cristina Tarteata at the headquarters of these ministries.

She also met with the President of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Mihai Daraban, and the Standing Vice President of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce. They all appreciated the great achievements that Vietnam has made in socio-economic development and showed their respect for traditional friendship between the two countries. The Romanian officials also expressed their wish to further develop the cooperation between the two countries in many potential areas.

Ly Nha Ky's visit to Romania was well organized with the support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Romanian Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Valeriu Arteni and his wife, the President of the Friendship Parliamentary Group with Vietnam Mr. Lucian Eduard Simion and the President of the Gorj Fellow Council in Bucharest Mr. Sabin Stamatescu.

Chau Thanh