MANILA — Viet Nam and the Republic of Palau officially established diplomatic relations on Monday.

With authority granted by the Government of Viet Nam and the Palau Government, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines, Vu Xuan Truong, and Palau Ambassador to the Philippines, Ramon Rechebei, signed here a joint declaration establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

According to the statement, the nations officially established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on August 18.

The Vietnamese Ambassador in the Philippines will serve as non-permanent ambassador to Palau, and the Palau Ambassador to the Philippines also serves as non-permanent ambassador to Viet Nam.

At the signing ceremony, the two ambassadors said they hoped the new diplomatic relations would lead to new co-operation in many aspects between the two countries, especially in the economy, contributions to consolidating peace, stability and common development in the region.

Palau consists of 340 islands, with a population of 20,000 residents, located between The Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

The Republic of Palau was established on October 1, 1994.

Its economic sectors include tourism, agriculture and fisheries. Last year, its GDP was US$162 million and it received 93,000 foreign tourists. — VNS