The 2013 Vietnam Festival that was part of the “Vietnam Days in Japan” to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties successfully closed on September 15.

The two-day stirring event featured Vietnam’s signature cuisine, handicraft items and tourism products as part of efforts to promote the country’s images to Japanese people.

Several exhibitions were also held, including a photo exhibition at the Vietnam House pavilion capturing Vietnamese people’s rich cultural and spiritual life together with traditional musical instruments.

Visitors were also entertained by cultural exchanges and art programmes performed by both countries’ artists.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung affirmed that the two countries have enjoyed the best ever growing relations and that the festival was successful.

Co-chaired the festival’s organising board, former Senator Matsuda Iwao thanked the Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnamese and Japanese friends for accompanying him through to the fantastic end of the event.

The same day, the festival organising board’s chairmen Hung and Matsuda had a meeting with visitors and listened to their ideas about how to step up Vietnam-Japan friendship and economic and cultural ties.

The next event is scheduled to take place in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, on September 13-14, 2014.-VNA