Visitors at the Vietnamese stall in the ASEAN village at the 21st National Multicultural Festival in Australia(Photo: VNA)
Sydney (VNA) – An ASEAN village has been a big attraction at the 21st National Multicultural Festival recently held in Australia.
Thecolourful village consisted of a central stage and 10 stalls of traditionalcrafts and food run by 10 member nations.
Brunei HighCommissioner in Canberra Zakaria Ahmad, also head of the ASEAN Committee in thecity in 2017, said it is not the first time ASEAN member states have taken partin the festival, but it is the first time they have joined it together.
Vietnamese Ambassador toAustralia Luong Thanh Nghi said the village aims to promote ASEAN’s solidarityand diverse cultures to international friends.
Rachel Stephen-Smith, Ministerfor Multicultural Affairs at the Australian Capital Territory Government,called the ASEAN village an interesting destination, adding that theparticipation of the bloc members has been an indispensable part of the fair inthe past two decades.
This year, Australia’s National Multicultural Festival, first held in 1996,comprised 400 stalls covering 10 km. It was estimated that 40 tonnes of foodwere consumed during the three-day event.
ASEAN andAustralia have built their partnership over the past 42 years, with bilateraltrade doubling to reach 100 billion AUD within the last decade. The figureaccounted for 15 percent of Australia’s total trade revenue.-VNA
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Visitors at the Vietnamese stall in the ASEAN village at the 21st National Multicultural Festival in Australia(Photo: VNA) 
