British Ambassador impressed with Vietnamese traditions during Tet festival

The Ambassador said: "This is my third Tet season here in Viet Nam, and I feel very happy and very comfortable living here. I have lived in Ha Noi and travelled around the country. Wherever I go, I meet people who are friendly and welcoming, and I am always having new experiences, and for me that is an exciting thing, so whether that is trying some new food or seeing some of the beautiful sites here in Viet Nam".

The Ambassador said, he is very privileged and very lucky to be in Viet Nam as the Ambassador. The spirit of Vietnamese people is very warm. The celebration as the country won the 2024 ASEAN Championship final, that is a positivity and a pride in their country that Vietnamese people have.

Viet Nam is a country and continues to develop with that positive spirit and the sense that tomorrow is going to be better than today, and the sense of optimism for the future, he told.

Frew said, what made him fascinating is to see how people celebrate during the Tet holiday. The tradition he really loves is reporting to the Kitchen Gods and releasing fish into the rivers and ponds.

"During my first Tet festival in Viet Nam, I learned how to make banh chung, and for me that was fascinating. Some of these rich traditions are the foods and the reasons why these dishes are associated with this time of year and with Tet', shared the diplomat.

For the Ambassador, Tet is a wonderful period. It is a period to see blossoms and people carrying blossoms in the streets, the pink and the yellow blossoms, and it is a sign that spring is coming.

Viet Nam-UK relations develop hugely across all sectors

The Ambassador said, the relations between Viet Nam and the UK have developed very positively and very strongly over the past few years with developments in a number of areas.

The UK has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) recently and the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) has come into force since 2021. These agreements have really been helping both countries to trade more together.

According to the diplomat, education is an area where the UK and Viet Nam work closely together with several UK universities operating in Viet Nam. Meanwhile, there are about 12,000 Vietnamese students studying in the UK. That represents an ambition and investment in the next generation in Viet Nam.

"It also represents building bridges between people who will work together in future, researchers and young innovators who are going to be helping to build the next generation of businesses, and make connections around social and medical issues", told Frew. 

Besides, energy transition is one key area both sides have worked on over the last two years very closely, with the aim to support Viet Nam's goals to reach net-zero emission target by 2050.

The Vietnamese government is moving to clean energy, which is important, not just for the planet, but actually for Viet Nam's own development, underlined the Ambassador. 

"The energy needs in Viet Nam as this economy grows quickly in this new era are going to be significant, and we need to make sure that energy is green. We are working together to build out offshore wind to help upgrade Viet Nam's energy grid", shared the diplomat.

He expressed his delight to witness a strong UK presence at the Viet Nam International Defence Expo 2024 and exchanges between both nations' defense delegations.

In addition, the two nations have strong relationships in areas like training, and UN peacekeeping operations, and are looking at fostering collaboration in such fields as border security and tackling international organized crime./.