Participants in the ceremony bathe the Buddha statue, a ritual of the traditional New Year festival of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) - A ceremony was heldat Pho Minh Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on April 14 to celebrate the traditionalNew Year of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.
Organised by the HCM City Union of FriendshipOrganisations (HUFO) and the city’s committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha(VBS), the ceremony saw the presence of representatives from theconsulates-general of the four countries in HCM City, the municipal VietnamFatherland Front Committee, the municipal Committee for Overseas Vietnamese,and the countries’ entrepreneurs and students.
The traditional New Year festival is known asChol Chnam Thmay in Cambodia, Bunpimay in Laos, Thingyan in Myanmar, andSongkran in Thailand.
Addressing the celebrations, HUFO Vice ChairwomanTran Hoang Khanh Van said the ceremony aims to further promote mutualunderstanding, cultural exchange, and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam,including HCM City, and the four neighbouring countries.
She noted that Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,and Thailand are ASEAN members and have cooperated and assisted one another overmany years. Their peoples have stood side-by-side in fighting for nationalindependence, developing their countries, and building an ASEAN Community ofpeace, stability, cooperation, and prosperous development.
Most Venerable Thich Thien Tam addresses the ceremony held at Pho Minh Pagoda on April 14 (Photo: VNA)
Most Venerable Thich Thien Tam, Vice Presidentof the Executive Council of the Central VBS Committee and deputy head of theHCM City VBS Committee’s executive board, said the traditional New Year ofCambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand reflects the similarities in culture andreligious practices among the countries, adding that it is helpful instrengthening the five nations’ solidarity in their development efforts and in ASEANCommunity building.
Echoing that view, Ratiwan Bonprakhong, ChiefRepresentative of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s HCM City Office, heldthat the ceremony helps bring the five countries’ people closer together andalso demonstrates their solidarity and unity./.
Students of Cambodia and Laos in Ho Chi Minh City on April 12 joined a get-together held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) of the city on the occasion of their New Year festival.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has sent a letter of greetings to Khmer people in Vietnam on the occasion of Chol Chnam Thmay, their traditional New Year festival.
Authorities in many cities and provinces across Vietnam have organised activities to join Khmer ethnic minority people and Cambodians in celebrating their traditional New Year.
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The activities include a Vietnamese language teaching training course for overseas Vietnamese teachers from August 13 to 28 in Hanoi, Ninh Binh, and Thai Nguyen.
Specifically, the ships will carry out patrols from 7am to 6pm daily along the main tourist routes in Ha Long Bay, with one ship permanently stationed at Ti Top island. From 6pm to 7am the following day, the mobile vessels return to Tuan Chau island to maintain a 24/7 on-call duty shift, ensuring constant readiness.
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A 21-year-old Indian tourist was successfully resuscitated and treated by doctors at Hoan My Da Nang Hospital after a near-drowning incident left him in critical condition. After three days of intensive care, the man was discharged from the hospital and has since returned to India.
In an document issued on August 5, the PM emphasised the need to stablise living conditions for people hit by floods, landslides, and flash floods in late July and early August in northern and north-central provinces, especially Dien Bien, Son La, and Nghe An which suffered some of the worst damage.
Although millions of Vietnamese were affected by AO, only over 626,000 individuals, including war veterans and their children suffering from dioxin-related conditions, are currently receiving state benefits.
Participants in the ceremony bathe the Buddha statue, a ritual of the traditional New Year festival of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand (Photo: VNA) 
Most Venerable Thich Thien Tam addresses the ceremony held at Pho Minh Pagoda on April 14 (Photo: VNA) 
