Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Dương Hoài Nam (third from left) and representatives of the Thanh Hóa Fellow-countrymen Association pose for a photo during the event. — VNA/VNS Photo

PRAGUE — The Thanh Hóa Fellow-countrymen Association in the Czech Republic held its 5th Congress and celebrated its 20th founding anniversary on June 23.

This is one of the earliest associations of this kind established in the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic with thousands of members doing business and living in most localities across the European country.

Throughout the last 20 years, members of the association have always demonstrated a spirit of solidarity, proactively integrated into the local community, effectively promoted the tradition of mutual support, and remained dedicated to building and developing the homeland.

Over the recent years, the community of expatriates from Thanh Hóa in the Czech Republic has consistently played an active role in charitable activities towards their homeland, especially contributions to developing Thanh Hoa into a socio-economic centre in the north-central region.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Dương Hoài Nam applauded the association’s efforts to integrate into the local community, and their spirit of mutual support and active contributions towards their homeland.

He said he hopes that the association will stay united, keep supporting each other in life and business, and actively contribute to the host community, thus building a positive image of Vietnamese people in the eyes of local people as well as other Europeans. — VNS