More than 200 photos featuring the beauty of Vietnam’s seas and islands are being showcased at Joseph Gallery in Paris, France.

Nam Du island 

The three-day exhibition also displays over 40 ancient legal documents proving Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

Addressing the opening ceremony on October 20, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Hoang Vinh Bao said the exhibition introduces the sea-based livelihoods and culture of Vietnamese people in coastal areas and islands.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Ngoc Son stressed that the tourism sector makes up of 7 percent of the nation’s gross domestic production (GDP). It served a record number of over 10 million international tourists in 2016, including 230,000 French visitors.

The figure is expected to increase in 2017 as Vietnam welcomed almost 9 million foreign holidaymakers in the Jan-Sep period, Son said, expressing his belief that the exhibition will contribute to bringing more tourists to Vietnam.

Joseph Ahekoe, Editor-in-chief of Francophonie Actualites magazine, who has been to Vietnam several times, expressed his excitement when watching the photos, saying that the exhibition makes him feel like being in Vietnam.

Vietnam has huge potentials that need to be fully tapped for stronger development, he said.

A similar exhibition was held in the Czech Republic in July and two others will be organised in Russia and the US.-VNA