Paris: The Vietnamese Embassy in France held a Lunar New Year (Tet) celebration programme at the City Hall of Paris on January 26, with the participation of more than 1,000 overseas Vietnamese in the country.

The event saw the attendance of Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Toan Thang and his spouse, Nguyen Thuy Anh, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs, President of the Vietnam – France Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, Ambassador – head of Vietnam’s delegation to the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Nguyen Thi Van Anh, first deputy mayor of Paris in charge of Europe, international affairs and Francophone community Arnaud Grégoire, and others.

In his remarks, Ambassador Thang lauded the contribution of the Vietnamese community and wished them a new year with good health, success and prosperity.

The diplomat emphasised that the year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomat
ic ties and 10 years of their strategic partnership. It also featured many events, activities and exchanges in all fields and at all levels.

The 12th France-Vietnam Decentralised Cooperation Conference, which took place in Hanoi in April 2023, was a typical example of closeness and diversity in their bilateral relations, he said, expressing his confidence that the close relationship between Vietnam and France in all fields will continue to bear fruits.

For his part, Arnaud Grégoire pledged that Paris will continue to promote cooperation in the C40 network, featuring nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to help the two countries’ cities adapt to climate change in innovative ways.

Participants at the event had a chance to enjoy art performances by the Vietnamese Culture Centre in France.

On January 27, the Consulate General of Vietnam in Frankfurt, Germany also organised a ceremony to welcome the Lunar New Year on January 27.

Speaking at the event, Consul G
eneral Nguyen Quynh Phuong reviewed Vietnam’s outstanding political, economic and diplomatic achievements in 2023, emphasising that Vietnam’s foreign relations are increasingly expanding and its prestige in the international arena is improving.

She said that the relationship between Vietnam and Germany continued to deepen and become more substantive in many fields.

Germany is Vietnam’s largest trading partner in the EU and the latter is Germany’s largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN). Their bilateral trade turnover reached nearly 14 billion USD last year.

She underlined the contributions of the Vietnamese community in Germany to Vietnam’s overall success, contributing to popularise the images of the country and Vietnamese people. The diplomat also called on the Vietnamese community to continue supporting the activities of the Consulate General, together looking toward their homeland./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore on January 27 evening held a get-together for Vietnamese in the country on the occasion of the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

Ambassador Mai Phuoc Dung briefed the participants on the situation at home, as well as the Vietnam-Singapore relations, saying Singapore remained one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam, and the bilateral ties have been developing more comprehensively.

He called on Vietnamese living and working in Singapore to build a strong community there, stay united, and preserve and uphold traditional culture.

On this occasion, the diplomat presented certificates of merit to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Vietnamese community in Singapore.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association co-organised a Tet festival at the Bukit Bintang centre in Kuala Lumpur on January 27-28, with its opening ceremony attended by some Malaysian officials and representatives of local businesses.

In
her remarks, Tran Thi Chang, President of the association, promised to continue supporting Vietnamese there, contributing to tightening the Vietnam-Malaysia friendship.

Ambassador Dinh Ngoc Linh called on the Vietnamese community to make more contributions to the development of both countries, as well as the bilateral friendship, noting the Vietnamese language and culture should be further preserved.

Mohamed Amin, Senior Director of Domestic and Event, Tourism Malaysia, said special events like the festival have played a role in promoting the good friendship between the two countries and exchanges between their citizens.

The Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is committed to supporting the establishment of the sister-city model between Melaka and Hoi An, and Langkawi and Phu Quoc in the time ahead, he noted.

The festival featured a menu of activities promoting Vietnamese cuisine and culture.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Luang Prabang of Laos in coordination with th
e Vietnamese community in northern Lao provinces hosted a party with the participation of Lao officials.

In Australia, the social-charitable group “New Sunlight for Children” also met ahead of Tet, during which they made banh chung (square, glutinous rice cake) – a traditional dish of Vietnamese people on the festival./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The Embassy of Saudi Arabia organised a programme in Hanoi on January 28 in response to Catwalk 2024, a global outdoor walk dedicated to raising awareness of the Big Cats.

The campaign is a celebration of this magnificent, yet critically endangered, subspecies, and a call to action to address its plight, and the plight of all the Big Cats around the world facing similar threats, according to Catmosphere, the foundation behind Catwalk.

Founded in 2021 by Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Catmosphere is a foundation that uses the stories of Big Cats and their conservation challenges to encourage people all to take action to address public wellbeing.

Catmosphere’s initiatives aim to fuse the concepts of health and conservation to straddle sectors, audiences and partnerships in uniquely impactful ways.

Over 90,000 people from 136 countries participated in Catwalk 2021 and 2022.

In 2024, in celebration of the historic declaration by the United Nations, Catwalk will be held on February 10, which will be th
e first-ever UN recognised International Day of the Arabian Leopard.

The Hanoi programme took place around Hoan Kiem Lake with the participation of some foreign ambassadors and chiefs of international agencies in Vietnam, along with Vietnamese officials, students and environment lovers.

It aims to include Vietnam in the meaningful global campaign and send sincere thanks to those who participated in the activity, said Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A. Dahlwy./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The country will continue to experience the cold effect of the northeast monsoon or ‘amihan’ throughout the day, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Sunday.

In its 4 a.m. bulletin, the state weather bureau said most parts of the country, including the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, the provinces of Aurora and Quezon, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Caraga and Davao Region, will have cloudy skies with light rains.

Metro Manila will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies, with isolated rains.

Strong winds toward the northeast, according to PAGASA, will cause rough coastal waters (2.8 to 4.0 meters) in Southern Luzon, Visayas, and the northern and eastern sections of Mindanao.

The rest of the country will have moderate to rough coastal waters from 1.2 to 3.4 meters.

The sun rose at 6:25 a.m. and will set at 5:53 p.m.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The country will continue to experience the cold effect of the northeast monsoon or ‘amihan’ throughout the day, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Sunday.

In its 4 a.m. bulletin, the state weather bureau said most parts of the country, including the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, the provinces of Aurora and Quezon, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Caraga and Davao Region, will have cloudy skies with light rains.

Metro Manila will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies, with isolated rains.

Strong winds toward the northeast, according to PAGASA, will cause rough coastal waters (2.8 to 4.0 meters) in Southern Luzon, Visayas, and the northern and eastern sections of Mindanao.

The rest of the country will have moderate to rough coastal waters from 1.2 to 3.4 meters.

The sun rose at 6:25 a.m. and will set at 5:53 p.m.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Dien Bien: A working delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on January 28 paid a visit to the northwestern mountainous province of Dien Bien on the threshold of the Lunar New Year (Tet), the most important and longest festival of Vietnamese people in a year.

The Deputy PM hailed the efforts of the Party Organisation, authorities, armed forces and people of Dien Bien in the past year in socio-economic development, achieving many positive results, contributing to the successful implementation of the country’s socio-economic plan. By the end of 2023, the rate of poor households in the province had decreased by 4.17% per year.

The Deputy PM said he hopes that the province will continue to take care of residents, especially policy beneficiary families, people who rendered service to the nation, poor households, disadvantaged people and those in highland and border areas so that they can enjoy a happy Tet.

He urged local authorities to strengthen inspections on food safety, environmental protection
and disease prevention on this occasion, along with enhancing market management, ensuring that essential goods are available.

Visiting officers and soldiers of Si Pha Phin border guard station in Nam Po district, the Deputy PM requested the station to perform well political tasks, contributing to protecting territorial sovereignty and national border. They also were assigned to coordinate with other forces to take care of the lives of people in the locality during Tet.

During his trip, he also visited and presented Tet gifts to social policy beneficiary families, poor households, workers in difficult circumstances in Nam Po and Muong Cha districts.

Earlier on January 27, the Deputy PM and his entourage offered wreaths and incense at the Martyrs Temple in Dien Bien Phu Battlefield and the A1 Martyrs Cemetery. He also visited the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum and handed over gifts to social policy beneficiary families in the city./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Kien Giang: The U Minh Thuong National Park in the southern province of Kien Giang will accelerate infrastructure development and create new tourism products to attract more travelers, according to Hoang Van Tuan, the park’s director.

Founded in 2002, the park covers over 8,500ha of land, including about 8,000ha of special-use forest. It is one of two important peatland areas in Vietnam recognised as an ASEAN Heritage Park and 2,228th Ramsar site of the world and the eighth of its kind in Vietnam. Thus, it holds huge ecotourism development potential.

U Minh Thuong offers habitat for 72 rare animals and plants that are named in the 2007 Vietnam Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Its fauna comprises 32 species of 10 families and seven genuses, 54 reptile and amphibian species, including eight in Vietnam’s Red Data Book like reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus), krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and cobra, and 34 fish species.

Tuan sa
id that over the past years, great efforts have been exerted in the preservation of the biodiversity of the cajeput forest ecosystem as well as the cultural and historical values.

The park has also conducted research, dissemination and education activities on conservation and exploitation of the potential for ecotourism development, contributing to stabilising the lives of local residents, he said. However, he noted that the number of tourists to the park decreased after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, it welcomed nearly 30,000 visitors, equivalent to 63% of the yearly plan, earning 3 billion VND (about 121,280 USD) in revenue.

Tuan attributed the lower number of tourists poor infrastructure and a lack of capital dedicated to ecotourism. Revenue from tourism is still low, so reinvestment is not commensurate with available potential, he added.

As one of the tourist destinations in the Mekong Delta, the park hosted nearly 50,000 visitors per year before 2021.

In the coming time, it will continue to tap i
ts potential in landscape, environment, diverse natural resources, forest ecosystems, culture, and historical relic sites to develop ecotourism, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency