Staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy in Mozambique pose for a commemorative photo at the booth during the event. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — To mark the 59th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Vietnamese Embassy in Mozambique, together with the Indonesian, Thai and Timor-Leste embassies, held an ASEAN food fair in Maputo on August 22.

The first event of its kind in the Mozambican capital attracted around 300 guests, including representatives of Mozambican ministries and agencies, international organisations, ASEAN communities and local residents.

Speaking after the flag-raising ceremony, Timor-Leste Ambassador to Mozambique Luis Miguel Lopes de Sousa Sequeira said the event offered an important opportunity to strengthen friendship, mutual understanding and respect among ASEAN embassies and communities in Mozambique.

The fair featured traditional dishes from Việt Nam, Indonesia, Thailand and Timor-Leste, along with cultural performances, bringing the image of a diverse yet united ASEAN community closer to international friends.

Việt Nam’s pavilion drew strong interest with iconic dishes including phở, nem, tapioca dumplings and coffee. For many Mozambican and international guests who used to live, study or work in Việt Nam, the food offered more than a culinary experience, evoking fond memories of the country and its people.

The event also provided a platform for Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian communities in Mozambique to meet and connect, thus strengthening solidarity within the “ASEAN family” and highlighting the region’s message of peace and development.

Besides, the fair carried a strong humanitarian message, with all proceeds donated by the participating embassies to the Lar Nova Esperanca orphanage in Maputo.

The initiative reflected the ASEAN spirit of solidarity and mutual support, helping spread the community’s shared values among people in the host country. — VNA/VNS