Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese embassies in Singapore and Brunei and the Nguyen Du Lao-Vietnamese bilingual language school in Vientiane, Laos have organised activities for Vietnamese there to celebrate the traditional Lunar Ne𝄹w Year (Tet) festival.

The celebration held by the Vietname Embassy in Singapore saw the participation of about 400 overseas Vietnamese, guests, and officials of Vietnamese representative agencies in the country and their families. Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh emphasised the diversity, dynamism, creativity and close bond of the Vietnamese community in Singapore.

He affirmed that the community's contributions not only tighten solidarity and mutual affection, but also affirm the special cultural features and traditional beauty of Vietnamese people in Singapore. On this occasion, the ambassador awarded certificates of merit to 24 individuals and collectives who have made positive contributions to community activities in 2024. The Nguyen Du Lao-Vietnamese bilingual language school in Vientiane on January 20 organised an event for its teachers, students and their parents to jointly make “banh chung” (square glutinous rice cake) - a traditional dish of Vietnamese people on the occasion of Tet. The school's principal Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong said that this is the third year the school has organised such event, which help students remember their roots and cultivate an awareness of preserving and sharing Vietnamese culture and traditions with their Lao friends, especially during the Lunar New Year.

The “banh chung” wrapping activity not only signifies love for the nation and the connection among people, but also helps to preserve and promote Vietnamese cultural values within the community, contributing to bridging the gap between generations and connecting families and schools. Earlier, on January 19, the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei held a homeland spring programme for Vietnamese people in the country and representatives from multicultural Vietnamese-Brunei families.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Tran Anh Vu highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements and the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Brunei across key areas such as politics-diplomacy, defence-security, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges. He emphasised the positive development of bilateral economic-trade cooperation, noting that two-way trade reached over 600 million USD in the first 11 months of 2024, surpassing the target of 500 million USD by 2025, with significant contributions from businesses of both countries, including Vietnamese enterprises in Brunei. The diplomat commended the Vietnamese community in Brunei for fostering solidarity and mutual support, particularly through practical activities such as helping compatriots affected by Typhoon Yagi. He expressed his hope that in 2025, overseas Vietnamese would continue to actively collaborate with the embassy to promote Vietnam-Brunei relations and effectively organise activities celebrating major national holidays. At the event, the participants enjoyed New Year songs, joined contests about Vietnamese language and Vietnamese traditional Tet, and drawing for gifts, and enjoyed traditional Vietnamese dishes together./.