Vietnam joins Workers' Party of Belgium solidarity festival

The Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium participated in the Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB)’s 11th Manifesta (solidarity) festival in the Belgian western province of Ostend from September 11-12 with one booth introducing the country’s cuisine, culture and tourism.

The Vietnamese booth at the festival (Photo: VNA)
The Vietnamese booth at the festival (Photo: VNA)

Publications introducing Vietnamese tourism such as Vietnam Pictorial and Le Courrier du Vietnam were also available at the Vietnamese stall.

Herman Dereymaeker, a member of the PTB, expressed his impression about Vietnamese tourism, land and people.

At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao held meetings with PTB leaders to brief them on socio-economic achievements that Vietnam has gained over the years as well as the fruitful outcomes of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue's freshly-ended Europe trip, which has contributed to accelerating relations between Vietnam and the EU and Belgium in particular.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency's correspondent in Belgium, Deputy Ambassador to Belgium Le Vinh Thang said that the festival is a chance for the embassy to promote the image of the Vietnamese nation and people to foreign friends, while introducing Vietnam’s achievements in international integration and exchanging experience in workers’ movements, social welfare policies and the protection of workers’ interests.

Various activities were held within the festival’s framework, including music concerts, seminars, discussions and book fairs.

Well-known speakers of Belgium and other countries highlighted issues related to the history of Belgium’s communist movement, world peace, the health crisis caused by COVID-19, and the solidarity of the working class all over the world.

Manifesta is one of the first outdoor mass gatherings in Belgium as part of the country’s roadmap to remove restrictions to prevent COVID-19 spreading that started on September 1.