National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)
Although he has only been assigned to Vietnam for nearly 2 months, Vietnam, especially the capital Hanoi, has captivated Cuban Ambassador Rogelio Polanco Fuentes.
In the video clip wishing Vietnam a Happy New Year, at Hoan Kiem Lake, which is considered the "heart of Hanoi," Cuban Ambassador Rogelio Polanco Fuentes sent his warm greetings and a hug of solidarity to the Vietnamese people on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2025 - a year of heroic anniversaries and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year.
The Cuban Ambassador said: "May this holiday of reunion and friendship bring new energies, opening a new era of strong development, for the prosperity, happiness and sustainable development both materially and spiritually of Vietnam. May the glorious history of Vietnam, along with the rich culture and kindness of the Vietnamese people continue to be the most valuable assets that need to be preserved."
"We hope that peace will be restored, just like the sword was returned in the legendary story of Hoan Kiem Lake, and that will allow us to enjoy life in Vietnam a thousand times more beautifully," the Cuban Ambassador sent his wishes.
2025 is the “Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year” when the two countries celebrate the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2025).
Over the past 65 years, the traditional solidarity, support and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba have been constantly cared for, consolidated, promoted and developed in many fields.
For the second year celebrating Lunar New Year in Vietnam, French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet decided to buy an ao dai and personally decorate it with peach blossoms and a vase of dahlias symbolizing wealth and luck.
French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet. (Photo: Viet Duc/VNA)
Recalling his Tet shopping experience, Ambassador Oliver Brochet said he was impressed by the Vietnamese people’s ability to transport huge peach and kumquat trees on motorbikes. These everyday images helped Ambassador Olivier Brochet understand more about Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general.
“I am very impressed with Hanoi's cultural life. There are many cinemas and many theaters. The cultural life of Hanoians is extremely rich. I hope Hanoi can promote and spread the city's culture more strongly internationally," Ambassador Olivier Brochet shared and expressed his expectations for the relationship between the two countries in 2025.
“In 40 years of renovation, Vietnam has always set ambitious goals. But more importantly, Vietnam has always known how to achieve the goals it has set. France was one of the first Western partners to accompany Vietnam's development process since the beginning of its opening up. We continue to wish to accompany Vietnam in the new era,” said Ambassador Olivier Brochet.
After more than two years working in Vietnam, British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew shared: “This is my third Tet in Vietnam and I have to say that after two and a half years living in Vietnam, I feel very happy and relaxed... Tet is different every year. The first year I was here before Tet and then returned to the UK during Tet, last year I stayed in Vietnam for the whole Tet holiday. What I find interesting is the way people celebrate Tet and the fact that Hanoi becomes very crowded and then very quiet. It is a very special time.”
Ambassador Iain Frew also said he loved Vietnamese traditional customs during Tet such as worshiping Tao Quan, as well as making banh chung - an experience that the diplomat said was very interesting.
“I learned more about these rich traditions, about the dishes and why some of them are associated with the Tet holiday. So for me, it was a wonderful time,” the Ambassador expressed his feelings.
Along with sharing his impressions of the traditional Vietnamese New Year, Ambassador Iain Frew also expressed his joy at the good development of the relationship between Vietnam and the UK over the past year.
According to the Ambassador, the relationship between the UK and Vietnam has developed very positively and strongly in recent years, in many traditional and new areas, such as in the fields of trade, energy transition, education and training, security and defense; at the same time, he believes that the cooperation between the two countries will have stronger developments in the coming time.
Like Ambassador Iain Frew, Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass said that Tet At Ty is his third Tet in Vietnam.
“I celebrated Tet in 2023, 2024 and now 2025, and I have to say that I really enjoyed this occasion. I loved the excitement that everyone brought. I loved the colorful flower markets, the sight of people bringing plants to give to relatives and friends. It was wonderful,” Ambassador Thomas Gass shared.
Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass. (Photo: Viet Duc/Vietnam+)
The Ambassador also said that what he looks forward to during Tet is enjoying traditional dishes such as banh chung, bamboo shoot soup and che lam - sweet sticky rice cake with a layer of powdered sugar on the outside or crispy and fragrant ginger jam...
Also after two years working in Vietnam, Dutch Ambassador Kees van Baar said he was truly attracted to the country and people of Vietnam and did not want to leave Vietnam.
“Honestly, I always feel great in Vietnam. I love my work and life here, I love the food culture and the people here. Vietnam makes me feel like I am coming home, coming back to a green country, with lots of rain and rivers, plains. Vietnam has a lot of flowers, the Vietnamese love flowers, just like the Dutch. But of course, your cuisine is very different and I really like Vietnamese food. The Vietnamese people are also different, which makes everything even more interesting. I have to say, I don’t want to leave at all, really,” Ambassador Kees van Baar shared.
Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam Kees van Baar. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)
Sharing his experience of Vietnamese Tet, the Ambassador said he really likes Vietnamese Tet. “What I like is the excitement of the days before Tet. Especially the days when the whole city seems to turn into a park with mobile trees. During Tet, everyone buys trees to bring home, including kumquat trees, peach blossoms, and plum blossoms. People transport trees all over the city, bringing them to people to plant in their gardens or display in their homes. I really like that. On New Year's Eve, my friends and I always go to watch fireworks at West Lake. On the first day of the year, we gather together, drink coffee together, eat together, celebrate and enjoy those special moments,” said Ambassador Kees van Baar.
Meanwhile, Ms. Hilde Solbakken, Norwegian Ambassador, said that she and her family love Vietnam and especially Hanoi.
“We love the bustling street life and are very impressed with the hard-working culture of the Vietnamese people. We really feel at home. So, this Tet, I think we will enjoy the quiet days in Hanoi at the beginning of Tet. We will wander around the Old Quarter in Hanoi. Of course, we will decorate the peach tree in our house and hang our wishes on the tree. Hopefully, we will also visit some beautiful pagodas in Hanoi,” said Ambassador Hilde Solbakken./.
(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dai-su-cac-nuoc-chia-se-cam-xuc-ve-ngay-tet-viet-nam-post1009626.vnp
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