(VOVworld) – The Vietnamese embassy in Laos held a banquet on Friday to welcome Tet, Vietnam’s traditional lunar new year festival. Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thoonglun Sosoulith, Deputy Prime Minister Bunpon Buttanavong, and a number of senior Lao officials attended the event. Ambassador Nguyen Manh Hung highlighted cooperation between the two countries in 2014 and said friendship and comprehensive cooperation are great resources for each country’s construction and defense.
A Tet celebration was also held by the Vietnamese embassy in Tokyo, Japan attended by Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, senior advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance Takebe Tsutomu, and representatives of foreign embassies in Japan.
Japanese officials wished Vietnam greater success in the new year and pledged to continue promoting relations between the two countries, contributing to regional and global peace and stability.
The same day, the Vietnamese embassy in the US held a meeting with approximately 300 overseas Vietnamese and students in Washington DC and adjacent areas. Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh reviewed Vietnam’s achievements in 2014, particularly in national defense and security including the safeguarding of national maritime sovereignty. Concerning relations between Vietnam and the US, he said that both countries are determined to complete negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement this year, which will open up opportunities for stronger cooperation in trade and other areas. Vietnam and the US will mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.
The Vietnamese embassy in Turkey also held a Tet celebration in Ankara during which ambassador Nguyen The Cuong highlighted the meaning of the traditional lunar new year festival, Vietnam’s achievements in 2014, and developments in bilateral relations in recent years.