The Institute of South Asian, West Asian and African Studies (ISAWAAS) under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) hosted a Happy Iftar Day in Hanoi on April 3, bringing together representatives of Muslim countries’ embassies in Vietnam.
ISAWAAS Director Prof. Le Phuoc Minh speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Institute of South Asian,West Asian and African Studies (ISAWAAS) under the Vietnam Academy of SocialSciences (VASS) hosted a Happy Iftar Day in Hanoi on April 3, bringing together representatives of Muslim countries’ embassies in Vietnam.
The event aimed to promote mutual understanding between Vietnam and Muslimcountries.
Iftar is the fast-breaking evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan month – theholiest time for Muslims, which falls on the 9th month of the Islamic lunarcalendar, or between March and June each year. During this month, Muslimsobserve 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 culturalexchange and raise public awareness of Islamic culture, Iftar, and Halalpractices.
According to ISAWAAS Director Prof. Le Phuoc Minh, in the context of extensiveinternational economic integration and development, it is necessary to foster culturalexchanges between countries to promote understanding and friendliness, towardspositive outcomes in mult🀅ilateral 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 alsoreflects the strong determination of Muslims, he stressed.
Minh underlined the need for Vietnamese people to understandmore about the Islamic culture in general, and Iftar and Ramadan practices inparticular, thus enhancing relations with Muslim countries and opening up apromising Halal market.
Moroccan Ambassador to Vietnam Jamale Chouaibi highly valued the initiative toorganise the Iftar Day, saying that this demonstrates Vietnam's adherence to theprincipl🔜es of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect amongreligious communities as well as the Southeast Asian country’s determination tostrengthen and preserve social cohesion./.
The northern province of Quang Ninh has welcomed 28 Indian visitors according to the tradition of Islamism, proving its professionalism in organising Halal tourism activities.
Vietnam’s tourism sector is working hard to attract more tourists from Muslim countries (Halal tourists) which is seen as a potential market for the global tourism industry.
Aside from resuming tourism promotion in traditional markets, the northern province of Quang Ninh is also exploring new markets, including Muslim ones, to boost the recovery of international visitors.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will hold a conference in May to announce the export of chicken meat products to Islamic markets with an estimated volume of around 1,000 tonnes per month, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
The Vietnamese team will gather on June 26 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, where they will train until July 14 before departing for Indonesia for the ASEAN U23 Championship 2025, which runs from July 15 to 29. Vietnam will face Laos on July 19 and Cambodia on July 22 in the group stage.
The exhibition showcases more than 100 valuable documents and artifacts, divided into two main parts: “Journalist Nguyen Ai Quoc – Ho Chi Minh” and “President Ho Chi Minh – Founder and Mentor of Vietnamese Revolutionary Press.” This is an opportunity to recall the late leader’s journalism journey and affirm his exceptional role in founding and guiding the revolutionary press in Vietnam.
For the first time, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) has granted Vietnam hosting rights for the two championships, including the Asian women’s solo category, which debuts this year as an officially recognised event.
Eight teams will join the tournament, divided into two groups. Group A features Vietnam, the Philippines, Sichuan Club (China), and Australia, while Group B consists of Vietnam U21, Korabelka Club (Russia), Taiwan (China), and U21 Thailand.
Despite strong home support and high expectations, Vietnam were unable to overcome the defending champions, who secured their third consecutive win over Vietnam in a regional final, following previous victories in 2014 and 2023.
The event, part of Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy strategy through 2030, was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela and USM’s Faculty of International Relations. It attracted thousands of students from universities across Venezuela.
For the first time, Vietnamese audiences will have the opportunity to experience the ballet masterpiece "Don Quixote" in its original version by renowned choreographer Marius Petipa.
The contest carried deep meaning as it was the first time the life of Vietnamese women abroad had been highlighted as the central theme, said poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association.
The event formed part of Vietnam’s ongoing campaign to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the complex at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled to take place in Paris in July.
Creative cultural festivals are fast emerging as a new catalyst for tourism development in Vietnam, as localities increasingly invest in these vibrant events on a more systematic and larger scale.
This marks the first time Vietnam has hosted a continental-level Muay event which will feature competitions across 28 weight categories in combat and eight performance categories.
Coming to the Vietnamese booth, visitors had the chance to take part in a bamboo dance, a workshop on painting woven bamboo or rattan, or quizzes about Vietnam.
These are impressive achievements, not only showing the efforts and prowess of Vietnamese paddlers but also serving as proof of the sports sector’s strategic and systematic investment.
The cultural event in Canberra not only fostered cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Australia but also contributed to promoting Vietnam’s image internationally
The U23 competition will run from June 16 to 22, followed by the U17 event from June 23 to 28, while athletes competing in the U23 category will undergo weight and skill checks ahead of the matches starting June 18, while similar checks for U17 athletes will take place before June 23.
Vietnam continues to sit just behind continental powerhouses Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
ISAWAAS Director Prof. Le Phuoc Minh speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) 
