Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK, Tran Quang Hoan, stated that relations between Vietnam and the UK have been developing strongly in many fields since the diplomatic ties between the two countries were set up in 1973.

The event will help visitors to gain a better understanding of Vietnam as well as strengthen ties between the two countries, said Hoan.

The exhibition is showcasing work by 10 Vietnamese painters, including “Long Bien Bridge” by Le Quy Tong, “small path” by Pham Luan and “girl in Ao Dai” by Lim Khim Katy.

Speaking at a seminar on cooperation for aviation-tourism development held in Hanoi on April 22, Tuan said that between 70-80% of passengers travelling by air do so for tourism purposes and up to 80% of foreign tourists come to Vietnam by air.

Vietnam boasts a large tourism potential and diversified products and its tourism market has the potential to compete against other major regional tourism markets, said Deputy Head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) Lai Xuan Thanh.

The aviation sector plays an important role in the task of serving national tourism development, stressed Thanh.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said that both the aviation and the tourism sectors need to be brought into play in promoting Vietnam’s image abroad.

Both sectors should collaborate in providing information on tourism destinations and products for tourists before planes land, he said.

Vietnam now has around 20 airports for regular civil flights. Apart from the Vietnam national flag carrier, there are more than 20 foreign airlines operating in the country. The nation also boasts more than 800 international and thousands of domestic travel agents.

Vietnam’s aviation sector is opening new air routes and modernising its fleet to increase its competitiveness. These are advantages for both sectors in terms of cooperation for development, said the seminar.

This year, both administrations plan to jointly offer promotional and discount programmes to attract foreign tourists through a goods discount campaign at major retail outlets in Hanoi, the central city of Danang and HCMC. This is part of the “Vietnam – your destination” stimulus programme slated for August-September 2010.

The art work in this exhibition conveys the energy and dynamism of the artists of the Warlayirti Artists Art Centre in the Balgo Hills region of Western Australia.

The small community of Balgo, known in the Kukatja language as Wirrimanu, is one of Australia’s most remote settlements. The painters from Balgo include a generation of tribal elders who grew up in a context of customary tribal law. They know well about their inherited country and of associated stories and ceremonies of the mythic Tjukurrpa, so they paint in a new and vital art form that blends the ancient with the contemporary, the abstract with representations of landscapes and the spiritual with the political.

Consisting of contemporary paintings and etchings, this exhibition presents a range of stories that demonstrate the strong connection between aboriginal people and their traditions which are being maintained and celebrated today.

Free tickets are available at the Australian Embassy, 8 Dao Tan Street., Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

The exhibition runs until May 12.