Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese community in theRepublic of Korea (RoK), Belgium, and Germany has been enabled to mark thebiggest and long annual traditional event of their homeland – the Lunar NewYear festival (Tet) – via associated visits and gatherings over the past fewdays.

In the RoK, a delegation of the Vietnamese Embassy visitedtwo families of Vietnamese women married to Korean men on the festive occasion. They areDo Thi Thanh Nga in Gyeonggi province, who has been part of her Korean familyfor 17 years; and Huynh Thi Thai, 74, in Seoul, one of the first Vietnamesewomen marrying Korean men since 1973.

Chargé d'affaires Nguyen Viet Anh affirmed that thehappiness and achievements that the two families have obtained is a vivid proofof the special "marriage relationship" between the nations.

He expressed his wish that such multicultural families willcontinue to make more contributions to the common development of the Vietnam-RoKrelationship, which has freshly been upgraded to a comprehensive strategicpartnership.

In Belgium, the General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium(GAVB) held a Tet art programme by a troupe from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

Huynh Cong My, chairman of the GAVB, stated the organisationwants to bring the traditional Tet atmosphere to Vietnamese living abroad,helping them remember their homeland and strengthen the ties within theexpatriate community.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao stressed theParty and State always consider the Vietnamese community abroad an integral part and importantresource of Vietnam.

Having just over 13,000 people, the Vietnamese expatriate community in Belgium has integrated well in the host nation, complied with thelaw, and were highly evaluated by the local authorities.

In Germany, the Vietnamese Association in Leipzig organiseda celebration ceremony to welcome the year of the cat, gathering Vietnamese living andstudying in the city – one of the few German localities establishing twinrelations with Vietnamese localities.

Addressing the event, head of the association Bui Quang Huysaid with a population of nearly 4,000, the Vietnamese community in Leipzig is assessed asthe strongest foreign community there, making positive contributions. He alsoexpressed his wish for more support from the local authorities for the group’ssolidarity, integration, and growth.

Echoing the view, Minister-Counsellor Chu Tuan Duc at theVietnamese Embassy said the community has also contributed significantly to theVietnam-Germany ties.  

The Leipzig authorities took the occasion to thank the Vietnamese expatriates for their contributions to the city.

Similar events of traditional Vietnamese dishes and musicalperformances were also held in other parts of Germany like Cottbus, Rostock, andDessau./.