Cuban experts decorate the peach blossom to welcome Tet at the Dong Hoi Vietnam-Cuba friendship hospital in Quang Binh. (Photo: VNA)

Cuban experts and doctors at Dong Hoi Vietnam-Cuba friendship hospital in the central province of Quang Binh and international students at Thai Nguyen University in the northern province of the same name have been celebrating the ongoing Lunar New Year Festival (called Tet in Vietnamese) – the longest and biggest traditional festival in Vietnam.

According to Tran Tien Hung, deputy director of the hospital, every year, a cozy year-end dinner is held to connect Vietnamese staff with Cuban doctors and medical experts and help the Cuban friends enjoy interesting moments and traditional Vietnamese dishes on Tet days.

Hung said the Cuban experts are also offered more time to experience Tet. However, with a strong sense of responsibility, they are always ready to work and assist in treating patients in emergency cases that require high technical skills.

Between 2018 and now, the hospital has invited seven Cuban experts to work, aiming to improve the professional skills of the medical team, while also helping local people access high-tech services. Currently, two experts in surgery and oncology are still working here.

Meanwhile, Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Xuan Linh, head of the international faculty at the Thai Nguyen University, said this year, the faculty has 50 international students staying to celebrate Tet. It has run a pre-Tet cultural promotion programme to introduce traditional customs of this event to international students and organised Tet visits to and many support activities for those staying in the dormitory area during the festival.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thanh Van, vice rector of the university, it now has 877 foreign students from 23 countries and territories. Considering training the group as an important task, the educational facility has consistently provided the best conditions for them to study and integrate into the local society. The Tet holiday is an opportunity for them to gain more experiences and understanding of the history, culture, and people of Vietnam in general, and of the province in particular.

With these experiences, they will become "diplomatic ambassadors" connecting the friendship between Vietnam and many countries around the world, Van said.