The Islamic Republic of Pakistan yesterday opened its consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City and appointed Vietnamese director Duong Quoc Thai as the honorary consul general of Pakistan in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Addressing at the opening ceremony, Pakistani ambassador Zaigham Uddin Azam said he believes that the appointment of Thai, the general director of the Saigon Plastic Packaging Joint-Stock Company (Saplastic), will help cooperation and trade relations between both nations grow up in coming years.

The ambassador stressed that his diplomatic mission in Hanoi and the new office in Ho Chi Minh City will make efforts to strengthen mutual comprehensive relations and reach the two-way commercial target of US$2 billion in 2020.

On behalf of the authorities of Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Hong Linh – director of the HCMC Department of Foreign Affairs – highly appreciated the opening of the new office in HCMC to boost mutual relations.

Vietnam and Pakistan officially set up their diplomatic relations in 1972 and have carried out cooperation programs in different fields such as agriculture, education, health care, and banking.

The commercial growth rate between Vietnam and Pakistan has been 25 percent a year. The two-way commercial turnover reached US$500 million in 2013, up almost 50 percent from the US$262.5 million in 2011.