Vietnamese abroad cheer upcoming Tet festival

Vietnamese expatriates gathered in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Morocco on February 8 in celebration of the approaching Lunar New Year (Tet).

Ambassador to Australia Luong Thanh Nghi

Together, they feasted on traditional Vietnamese cuisine amidst festive music performances.

Ambassador to Australia Luong Thanh Nghi addressed event attendees, saying Vietnam and Australia are working to deepen their comprehensive partnership and build an action plan for 2015-2017.

Nearly 30,000 Vietnamese students are pursuing studies in Australia, the third largest student body abroad behind China and India. This year, around 160-170 Vietnamese students are expected to fly to Australia on the Colombo scholarship programme, he added.

In the New Zealand capital of Wellington, Ambassador Nguyen Viet Dung told a gathering of nearly 400 Vietnamese nationals that the nations are targeting US$1 billion in trade between them this year in celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Meanwhile, Ambassador to Malaysia Pham Cao Phong briefed participants on bilateral progresses across sectors, with trade hitting US$ 8.1 billion and Malaysia’s jump to the eighth largest foreign investor in Vietnam.

Nearly 1,000 people gathered in the southern Malaysian state of Johor with another 200 at the embassy in Morocco to celebrate the occasion.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)