Vietnamese in Cairo enjoy traditional dishes. — VNA/VNS Photo

CAIRO — The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt on Thursday hosted a vibrant community celebration to welcome the Year of the Snake, which brought together a large number of Vietnamese nationals living, working, and studying in the country, alongside numerous international friends.

Ambassador Nguyễn Huy Dũng extended wishes to the community for a prosperous, healthy, and successful new year. He expressed deep appreciation for the Vietnamese expatriates in Egypt, recognising their role in strengthening the ties between the two countries.

He encouraged the community to continue fostering patriotism, preserving Vietnamese culture, traditions, and language, while promoting solidarity and mutual support.

Ambassador Dũng reaffirmed that the Party and State always consider the Vietnamese community abroad an inseparable part and a vital resource of the nation.

Referring to Việt Nam’s economic progress, the diplomat highlighted the country’s impressive growth despite global challenges, at 7.09 per cent in 2024, surpassing the target of 6-6.5 per cent. Việt Nam’s total trade turnover exceeded US$800 billion, with a trade surplus of nearly $25 billion. The country now ranks among the world’s top 40 economies and top 20 in trade and foreign investment attraction.

He also underlined Việt Nam’s strategic targets of becoming a developing country with a modern industrial base and upper middle income by 2030 and a developed socialist country with high income by 2045.

On Việt Nam-Egypt relations, Ambassador Dũng noted significant potential for further collaboration between the two nations. He expressed confidence that 2025 will see continued growth in bilateral relations, particularly in sectors such as trade, investment, agriculture, textiles, tourism, education, and cultural exchange.

The event included a cultural performance by Vietnamese students in Egypt, featuring traditional music and dance. The Tết celebration offered an opportunity for the Vietnamese community to come together and reconnect in a festive and warm atmosphere. Guests enjoyed classic Vietnamese dishes like “bánh chưng” (square glutinous rice cakes), “nem” (spring roll), and “phở” (Vietnamese noodle).

On January 21, at the Phật Tích Pagoda in Vientiane, Laos, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) and the pagoda presented Tết gifts to disadvantaged people and those with disabilities living in the Lao capital.

The event was attended by Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Minh Tâm, Venerable Thích Minh Quang, head of the VBS’s coordinating board in Laos and head of the Phật Tích Pagoda, along with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Laos, monks, nuns, and local residents.

Ambassador Tâm highlighted the Vietnamese traditional values of solidarity and mutual support, stressing the Vietnamese Party and State’s great attention to overseas Vietnamese. He expressed his hope that the Vietnamese community in Laos will continue strengthening the bond between the two countries

At the event, the diplomat and Venerable Thich Minh Quang, alongside the Phât Tích Pagoda’s followers, presented 250 gift packages, each valued at 500,000 LAK (about $23), to disadvantaged individuals in Vientiane. The gifts were intended to spread warmth and kindness, ensuring that no one would be left behind during the festive season. — VNS