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HCM CITY (VNS)— The Royal Thai Consulate-General in HCM City has unveiled a 24-chapter documentary about Thailand and Viet Nam which will be aired on HCM City Television and VTC next month, in a move to deepen the relationship between the two countries.

The documentary was initiated by the Thai consulate-general to commemorate bilateral relations between Viet Nam and Thailand and elevate it to the level of "strategic partnership". This was officially announced during a visit to Thailand in June 2013 of Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong.

Each chapter of the documentary is a ten-minute episode focussing on the stories that make up the foundation of the relationship between the two countries, as well as news coverage of the bilateral relationship, such as an exchange of high-level visits and charity programmes by Thai agencies in Viet Nam.

Among those who were involved in the projects are Tran Viet Trinh, director of Tro Ve 3 (Return 3) partially filmed in Thailand, and Hoang Ngoc Hung, president of the Association of Overseas Vietnamese in Laos-Thailand, as well as Thai expats in Viet Nam and others.

Characters in the documentary took the opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts on the crucial role of people in fostering a closer bond between the tow nations over the past few years.

The Thai Consul-General in HCM City, Panpimon Suwannapongse, who initiated the documentary, told local media that initially she wanted to make a brief documentary about Viet Nam and Thailand, but with the encouragement of Thai and Vietnamese friends, she decided to make a longer documentary.

More documentaries like this will be made in the future, as a way to deepen the relationship between the two countries in the future, as well as bolster the mutual understanding of their peoples, paving way for them to join the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

During the press meeting, Hoang Ngoc Hung, a Vietnamese person living in Thailand, who was filmed in the documentary, said that he was born in Laos in 1946, and later migrated to Thailand. He and his family have received much support from the Thai community.

The premiere of the documentary was organised in the presence of Nuttavudh Photisaro, deputy permanent secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and other Thai and Vietnamese officials.

The documentary is scheduled to air once a week in HTV4 and VTC9 starting in March 2014. — VNS