Buenos Aires, May 7 -- The Vietnam-Brazil friendship and cooperative ties began in the early 20th century when President Ho Chi Minh set his foot in Rio de Janeiro in 1912 in his journey to seek the way to salvage the nation, according to a Brazilian official.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency's correspondents in Latin America on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations, President of the Brazil-Vietnam Friendship Association (ABRAVIET) and Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Ignacio Arruda recalled the time when Ho Chi Minh was sick while working on a French-flagged ship from Vietnam to France, and went down to the Port of Rio de Janeiro for treatment.

He said it was at that...