A Lunar New Year celebration for overseas Vietnamese held in Germany on Jan 28 (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – Some 1,300 overseasVietnamese in Germany gathered at an event to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival heldby the Vietnamese Embassy on January 28.
The event also saw the participation of representativesfrom other embassies in the host country such as Laos, Singapore, Cambodia,Thailand, the US, China and Japan as well as from the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentary Group in the German Parliament,the Ministry of Economy, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, theGerman-Vietnamese Association, the mayors of Lichtenberg and Marzahn –Hellersdorf, among others.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Vu Quang Minhaffirmed that 2023 was a very special year, as the strategic partnership ofthe two countries has reaped fruits in all fields of economy,trade, politics, defence-security, education, labour and developmentcooperation.
The diplomat emphasised the relations between the two sides have been expanded and deepened continuously, particularly after thehistoric visit to Vietnam of German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz in November2022 and another in early 2024 by German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier.
Germany is the second homeland of more than 200,000Vietnamese people. The community is an important factor in fostering thetraditional friendship between the people and governments of the twocountries.
Mayors of Lichtenberg and Marzahn-Hellersdorfdistricts appreciated the role of the Vietnamese community in Germany ingeneral and in the districts in particular, affirming that the community hassignificantly contributed to the districts'socio-economic development.
On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerlandheld a pre-Tet programme in Bern, with the participation of hundredsof overseas Vietnamese and international friends in the country.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland holds a pre-Tet programme in Bern on Jan 28 (Photo: VNA) In his remarks, Ambassador Phung The Long stressed theoverseas Vietnamese community is an inseparable part of the great national unitybloc, and is always of concern to the Vietnamese Party, State and people.
On January 27, the Vietnamese Embassy in Slovakia also organised a “Homeland Spring” programme in Bratislava to bring the warm Tet atmosphere tothe Vietnamese community in the European country.
The“Homeland Spring” programme opens in Bratislava, Slovakia, Jan 27 (Photo: VNA) On August 25, 2023, theVietnamese community was recognised as the 14th ethnic minority group of thehost country. The recognition is a testament to their active role in Slovakia'sdevelopment, thus making more effective contributions to the Vietnam-Slovakiafriendship./.
