The Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco recently held a grand meeting for overseas Vietnamese to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) as the biggest traditional festival is just around the corner.

Ambassador Nguyen Kim Doanh speaks at the meeting.(Photo: VNA)

The event was attended by 500 who are Vietnamese-US officials, businessmen, scholars, expatriates in the West Coast of the US, and representatives from local authorities.

In his remarks, General Consul Nguyen Trac Toan informed the guests of Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements in 2019, highlighting that Vietnamese expatriates in the US have made great contributions to the results, and adding 2020 will mark an important milestone in the bilateral relations as both side are marking the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

Toan laid a stress on the role of the Vietnamese community in the US West Coast in building the nation and nurturing the Vietnam-US relations in the past time, while calling for international friends to join hands to develop the ties in a practical fashion.

Meanwhile, similar event was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Tanzania on January 19, drawing the participation of many Vietnamese people, businesses, and international friends.

Ambassador Nguyen Kim Doanh conveyed Tet wishes of the Party and State leaders to the Vietnamese community in the host nation, and highlighted Vietnam’s political-diplomatic and socio-economic achievements as well as the sound Vietnam-Tanzania relations in the past year.

The Vietnamese Party and State always value the contributions by Vietnamese expatriates, including those in Tanzania, in the national construction and defense, he said, expressing his belief that the Vietnamese people in the host nation will continue to serve as a bridge to further the fruitful traditional friendship between the two countries.

He wished that the Vietnamese nationals will continue overcoming challenges and respecting Tanzanian regulations to give international friends a good image of Vietnam.

Similar activities were also held in Mexico, Poland, Slovakia and the UK on the same occasion.