The week-long cultural festival is held annually in Leipzig, although this year marks the first time that the festival organisers have invited its twin cities and several international organisations based in the city to join.
The Vietnam Trade Office, in co-operation with Leipzig’s authorities and the association of Vietnamese in Leipzig, opened the Vietnam pavilion at the event to showcase the nation’s key export products such as coffee, dried fruits, rice and rice products, and environmentally-friendly products.
In his address, Lord Mayor of Leipzig Burkhard Jung said that Leipzig is a multicultural and multi-ethnic city. The festival is therefore viewed as an opportunity for countries to strengthen cultural and trade exchanges to friends around the world, not only in Germany.
He went on to thank representatives of countries and cities for attending the event, expressing hope that the countries will continue to promote co-operation, their culture values and typical products moving forward.
He said the Vietnamese community based in Leipzig and the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany serve as important bridges to connect both nations, as well as between Leipzig and Ho Chi Minh City, which is one of its sister cities.
The two cities officially established a partnership on July 21, 2021. Previously, at the end of 2018, Leipzig opened a representative office in Vietnam. So far, Leipzig is the only German city with a representative office in Vietnam.
Over the years, Leipzig and Vietnam, in particular Ho Chi Minh City, have closely co-ordinated and effectively carried out many joint projects across multiple fields from economics, culture, health, education and training, to energy, the environment, and the conservation of rare animals.
