Vietnamese in western Canada celebrate Tet holiday

Consul General Pham Manh Hai highlighted Vietnam’s significant external events in 2017, including the successful APEC Year with the engagement of 21 leaders from member economies and the official and State visits to the Southeast Asian country, including the official visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Added to this were impressive socio-economic achievements such as the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.81 percent, the trade turnover of over 400 billion USD, and attraction of over 30 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI).The tourism sector for the first time welcomed more than 13 million international tourists. Notably, the U-23 national football team made history to become the runners-up of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship 2018, the official noted.

The relations between Vietnam and Canada witnessed important milestones over the past year with the issuance of a joint statement establishing the framework of bilateral comprehensive partnership across politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, cooperation development, defense-security, culture-education, science-technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

The Consul General informed that the two countries will celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2018. The Vietnamese Consulate General in Vancouver will coordinate with the British Columbia (BC) province to herald this event, he added.

He also affirmed the Party and State’s consistent policies of regarding overseas Vietnamese as an indispensable part of the nation. All Vietnamese expatriates, including those in Canada, are encouraged to invest in the hometown and contribute to the cause of national building and defense, he stressed.

Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology Bruce Ralston congratulated Vietnamese people on the Tet holiday and highlighted the sound relations between the BC province, particularly Vancouver city, and Vietnam.

He hailed the role of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Vancouver in promoting the bilateral multi-faceted relations and supporting the overseas Vietnamese in Canada’s western localities.

During the celebration, participants were treated with traditional Vietnamese cuisines and special art performances.