Participants at the gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia, toast the traditional Tet (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese diplomatic representative agencies in many countries have hosted a myriad of activities to join expatriates in celebrating the traditional Lunar New Year festival (Tet), which is only one week away.
In London, more than 300 Vietnamese people, including businesspersons and students, and their British friends gathered at an event held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK on January 31.
Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Van Thao said the homeland reaped a number of massive integration and development achievements last year, which were greatly contributed by overseas Vietnamese.
He asked the expatriate community to expand their efforts to consolidate solidarity, integrate into the local society, popularise Vietnam’s images, and deepen the Vietnam – UK strategic partnership.
Participants at the gathering enjoyed traditional Tet dishes and spring-themed songs performed by Vietnamese students.
At a similar function in Jakarta on January 31, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Hoang Anh Tuan reviewed highlights in bilateral relations, including two-way trade at 5.4 billion USD in 2015, which is expected to hit 10 billion USD in 2018.
The same day, Vietnamese people in China’s Hong Kong and Macau shared the Tet joy at a celebration in Hong Kong under the host of the Vietnamese Consulate General.
On January 30, expatriates in Singapore also marked the year’s biggest festival at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy. The embassy and the Vietnamese people’s liaison board there used the occasion to launch a programme calling for spiritual and material support for soldiers on Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.
Pre-Tet get-togethers were also held by the Vietnamese embassies worldwide, including in Italy, Slovakia, Israel, Austria, South Africa, New Zealand and Canada.-VNA
