HÀ NỘI – The Institute of South Asian, West Asian and African Studies (ISAWAAS) under the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) hosted a Happy Iftar Day in Hà Nội on April 3, bringing together representatives of Muslim countries’ embassies in Việt Nam.

ISAWAAS Director Prof. Lê Phước Minh speaks at the event. VNA/VNS Photo

The event aimed to promote mutual understanding between Việt Nam and Muslim countries.

Iftar is the fast-breaking evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan month – the holiest time for Muslims, which falls on the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar, or between March and June each year. During this month, Muslims observe two main meals each day, including Suhoor and Iftar.

This is the third consecutive year ISAWAAS has organised the Iftar event, helping to popularise humanitarian values of Muslims, strengthen cultural exchange and raise public awareness of Islamic culture, Iftar, and Halal practices.

According to ISAWAAS Director Prof. Lê Phước Minh, in the context of extensive international economic integration and development, it is necessary to foster cultural exchanges between countries to promote understanding and friendliness, towards positive outcomes in multilateral cooperation.

The Islamic culture, with its distinctive features, especially Iftar or Ramadan, is not only about the beauty of love, compassion, sharing, forgiveness, and no distinction between the rich and the poor, but also reflects the strong determination of Muslims, he stressed.

Minh underlined the need for Vietnamese people to understand more about the Islamic culture in general, and Iftar and Ramadan practices in particular, thus enhancing relations with Muslim countries and opening up a promising Halal market.

Moroccan Ambassador to Việt Nam Jamale Chouaibi highly valued the initiative to organise the Iftar Day, saying that this demonstrates Việt Nam's adherence to the principles of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect among religious communities as well as the Southeast Asian country’s determination to strengthen and preserve social cohesion. VNA/VNS