Attending the ceremony were Mr. Peter Wothers - President of the International Chemistry Olympiad, Mr. Phạm Vũ Luận - Minister of Education and Training, together with the ambassadors and representatives of the  embassies whose students have participated in the competition, teachers and nearly 300 students from 77 countries and territories.

IChO is the Chemistry Competition for high school students under the age of 20 all over world, held annually since 1968 (except 1971). Activities of IChO complies with the IChO Regulations approved by the International Council IChO and is under the general guidance of the Executive Committee elected by the International Board with a 2-year term. Vietnam has officially participated in IChO competition since 1996 and in these competitions, has always ranked high in comparison with other attending countries and territories.

Associate Prof. Nguyễn Văn Nội - Rector of VNU School of Sciences, Head of the Professional Department in IChO 46, said that this year, the International Chemistry Olympiad is held in Vietnam from July 20th to July 29^th  in 2014. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has assigned the VNU School of Sciences to be the hosting unit and the Hanoi National University of Education is the co-ordinating unit in organization. This is a great event involving the participation of 77 countries and territories around the world with 524 people, in which 291 are contestants.

Attending and speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Education and Training Phạm Vũ Luận expressed the honor when Vietnam is chosen as the hosting country of  the 46th IchO.  This shows the trust of the Chemistry Community and international friends in Vietnam. Mr. Luận believes that with the tremendous efforts of MOET and the Organizing Board, the candidates will have the best possible conditions and the fairness to compete in a peak competition, bringing the glory to their homeland and at the same time learning from each other, making a contribution to the constant development of chemistry in the world.

Also at the opening ceremony, Associate Prof. Dr. Bui Huy Can - Former Rector of VNU School of Sciences), Head of the Organizing Board said that IChO 46 is an opportunity for young people from 77 countries and territories to demonstrate their creative capacity in chemistry. At the same time, this is also an opportunity to exchange and learn from each other and strengthen international relations in the field of education and friendship among nations. 

That the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad  2014 is organized in Vietnam is also an opportunity to promote the image of the land and people and traditional culture of Vietnam to international friends.

Vietnamese