On behalf of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and generations of Vietnamese journalists, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam, Deputy Minister of MIC, expressed his gratitude to the people and Government of Sweden, specifically the Vietnam Journalism Advanced Training Project by the Swedish Journalism Advanced Training Institute (FOJO), which has helped train and improve the qualifications of thousands of Vietnamese reporters and journalists over the years.

In his speech, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam emphasized, "55 years have passed since Vietnam and Sweden established diplomatic relations and more than 10 years have passed since the project to improve Vietnam's journalism capacity ended successfully. What remains today are the good results from the project: a professional, humane, modern Vietnamese journalism and last but not least, humanity."

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam cited many journalists who have been trained by the FOJO Institute. Specifically, many graduates from the training course now hold important positions in Vietnamese press agencies such as Mr. Le Quoc Minh - Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association, Mr. Le Ngoc Quang - General Director of Vietnam Television.

As a member of the next generation to benefit from the project, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam expressed his sincere gratitude to the former leaders of the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and former leaders of the Project, and project officers in all positions and titles present and absent at today's ceremony.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam emphasized that these are examples of overcoming initial difficulties and prejudices about the prospects of Vietnam - Sweden cooperation in a new field with many differences between the two countries. They have brought the Vietnamese press and media the opportunity to access modern journalistic knowledge and skills, making an extremely important contribution to the cause of innovation and national construction of Vietnam.

Also on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Sweden, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam awarded the Medal for the cause of Information and Communications to former lecturers of the FOJO Institute.

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On the afternoon of October 27, a meeting and gratitude ceremony took place between leaders and former leaders of the Ministry of Information and Communications with former Swedish journalism lecturers and former Vietnamese students of the Vietnam Journalism Advanced Training Project for the period 1997 - 2013.
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"The story of the SIDA, FOJO project is a story of friendship, respect, gratitude and the opportunity to learn from each other. Let's continue to write the next chapters of this exceptionally good partnership," said Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam, expressing his belief in the bright future of the already good partnership.

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Former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Do Quy Doan expressed that "meeting the project's staff and lecturers helped me remember the arduous but glorious journey of implementing the project".
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Ms. Marie Louise Thaning - Counselor, Head of Trade and Political Promotion Department, Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam said, the training of Vietnamese journalists demonstrates Sweden's strong commitment to developing a strong media training environment. We expect the connection to enrich our friendship and strengthen our relationship in the future.
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Ms. Annelie Ewers, former Director of FOJO Institute, said that she had organized skills training for reporters and journalists around the world before connecting with Vietnam in 1997. The goal of the course was to train and develop the journalism and editing skills of Vietnamese journalists. We have done that by discovering new ways to cooperate, work, publish news and Vietnamese journalists and editors are increasingly excellent.

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Ms. Annelie Ewers presented pre-prepared gifts and best wishes to Vietnamese press agencies.
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Representing the project's lecturers, Mr. Clas Thor thanked the alumni association of the courses attending the program and expressed concerns about the future of journalism.
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Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam and former Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan awarded the Medal for the Cause of Information and Communications to former Swedish journalism lecturers.
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Leaders and former leaders of the Ministry of Information and Communications, former Swedish journalism lecturers and former Vietnamese students of the Vietnam Journalism Advanced Training Project for the period 1997 - 2013, took a souvenir photo at the headquarters of the Ministry of Information and Communications.