Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic Nguyen Duy Nhien (Source: VOV)Hanoi (VNA) – People-to-people diplomacyis one of the channels to help strengthen the long-standing friendship betweenVietnam and the Czech Republic.
Honorary President of the Czech-Vietnam Friendship Association Marcel Winter and Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in the CzechRepublic Nguyen Duy Nhien granted an interview to the Vietnam News Agency onthe occasion of the 70th anniverary of bilateral diplomatic ties(February 2, 1950-2020).
Marcel Winter described Vietnam as one of thenations having special relations with the Czech Republic.
Czech people have become more in favour of Vietnamese people because of their remarkable contributions to the host country’ssocio-economic development as well as the growth of bilateral traditionalfriendship, he said.
He said he was very happy to know that many Czechpeople love Vietnamese nationals and food.
Vietnamese food stores are present across thecountry, he said, adding that 20 years ago, no one knew about “Pho”, but now ithas become one of the most favourite dishes of Czech people.
For his part, Nhien said the past 70 years marked the development of high-level diplomatic ties between the two countriesas well as the strong development of the Vietnamese community in the CzechRepublic.
Over the past 20 years, the Overseas VietnameseAssociation in the Czech Republic has contributed to enhancing the bilateralrelations, especially promoting people-to-people diplomacy, he added.
In2020, the association will continue to work to increase the position of theVietnamese community in the Czech Republic.
Heencouraged the overseas Vietnamese continue looking towards the homeland andpreserving traditional cultural values through practical activities such aseducating and encouraging the next generations to learn Vietnamese and studyVietnam’s history, culture and customs.
The Vietnamese community in the Czech Republicwas recognised as an ethnic minority group in the East European country in2013, now numbering about 70,000./.
VNA
