Logo of Vietnam-New Zealand’s 40-year ties announced

HCM City, December 19 (VNA) - New Zealand’s Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City announced an official logo used for all events marking the 40-year milestone of Vietnam-New Zealand diplomatic relations (June 16, 1975 - 2015) on December 18. The logo was designed by a Vietnamese young artist Tran Giang Nam, who won the logo design competition launched by the New Zealand Embassy. It beat 500 other entries. Nam took on the traditional greetings of Maori people in New Zealand with two noses touching each other and combined it with the two countries’ flags and Vietnamese national flower of lotus to convey the friendship between Vietnam and New Zealand. According to New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam, Haike Manning, the winning logo demonstrates the robust and long-term bilateral friendship between the two countries. The special 40-year-relations celebration, themed ‘New Zealand – Open to the New’, will start on February 5, 2015, followed by a series of events and projects taking place throughout the year.-VNA