Rivlin departs for Vietnam

President Reuven Rivlin is set to arrive in Hanoi on Sunday for his official diplomatic four-day visit.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN greets runners in the Jerusalem Marathon outside the President’s Residence on Friday. (photo credit: GPO)
PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN greets runners in the Jerusalem Marathon outside the President’s Residence on Friday.
(photo credit: GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin left Israel on a late-night, 15-hour flight to Vietnam on Saturday, and will receive a ceremonial welcome in Hanoi at the start of a four-day visit.
On Monday morning, Rivlin will be hosted at a reception at the presidential palace by Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, after which he will meet with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
In the evening, Rivlin and his wife will be the guests of honor at a state dinner hosted by their Vietnamese counterparts.
On Tuesday, Rivlin will visit the Ho Chi Min mausoleum and place a wreath there, after which he will open a bilateral economic conference that will be attended by members of the Israeli business delegation that is accompanying him. The delegation is headed by Shraga Brosh, chairman of the Israel Manufacturers Association.
Rivlin will then meet with Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich, with whom Rivlin will tour an exhibition of Israeli defense equipment which has been sent to the Vietnamese Army. Vietnam has made no secret of its desire to enhance its defense ties with Israel, with a view to importing more advanced military equipment.
It also seeks to boost its defense ties with Russia.
Rivlin and Vietnam’s Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien will then participate in the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a private hospital.
The memorandum will be signed by representatives of the TH Group and two Israeli companies, Staromedic and Medicdan.
In the course of his various meetings, Rivlin will discuss future scientific research cooperation between Israeli and Vietnamese institutes of higher learning.
As a sign of the friendship between Israel and Vietnam, a concert has been organized for Rivlin and his delegation at the Hanoi Opera House. The concert will be conducted by Shalev Ad-El and will feature pianist Yaron Kolberg, both of whom are Israeli. Vietnamese and Cambodian musicians will also be participating.
On Thursday, Rivlin will visit Ho Chi Min City and tour a dairy farm set up by MASHAV, the Israeli Agency for International Development Cooperation.
On Friday, the president will visit VinEco, an agricultural project that is a subsidiary of the Israeli TAP Company, which specializes in growing hydroponic fruits and vegetables.
The president will spend Shabbat in Vietnam and expects to return to Israel on March 26.
Prior to leaving for his trip, Rivlin stood outside the President’s Residence on Friday to greet participants of the Jerusalem Marathon, including Alexander Mackewicz, who was running his 100th marathon.
Just a month earlier, Mackewicz and his wife, Hanna, completed a marathon in Marrakesh.
Rivlin, who was fitted with a pacemaker in January, has fully regained his health and will soon resume the brisk walks which were part of his daily regimen.