Vietnam will open an embassy in Sri Lanka's early next year.  This has been disclosed by the Deputy Minister of External Affairs, Mr.
Gitanjana Gunawardene, in a joint statement issued after a meeting with the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Vietnam Mr. Dao Viet Trung.

Deputy Ministers of both countries held a meeting on the sideline of
the Association of South East Asian Nations Regional Form held in the
Vietnamese capital Hanoi. The ASEAN is a grouping of 27 countries
which co-operate on regional security issues.

Sri Lanka has had diplomatic relations with Vietnam for 40 years. Sri
Lanka received assistance from Vietnam for the demining operations in
the North. In his meeting the with Vietnamese counterpart, Mr.
Gunawardene has requested co-operation from Vietnam in security
intelligence to combat activities of the remnants of Tamil Tigers in
East Asia.(niz).