ASEAN Food and Culture Festival was held in the evening of August 8th 2014 Malaysian Youth Council with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Malaysia. The festival has attracted thousands of participants of which 1000 were young people from ASEAN including Vietnam.
At the festival, Vietnam has introduced to international friends unique culinary culture of the North, the Central, and the South. Especially, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr. Yassin was impressed by Vietnamese cuisine. He was surprised at trimming art of Vietnamese chefs to make the shape of animals from vegetables and fruits. Yassin also praised the simple but exquisite layout of Vietnamese booths. Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Malaysia, Mr. Muhyiddin Yassin has emphasized that the festival is a great initiative to demonstrate the spirit of ASEAN solidarity through culture, cuisine, and tradition of each country, simultaneously, to promote to ASEAN friends the unity among various ethnic groups in Malaysia. Though this festival, ASEAN members hope to introduce Malaysians as well as foreigners living in Kuala Lumpur unique traditional characteristics of typical dishes and diverse culinary culture of ASEAN countries in general and of Malaysia in particular.
At the festival, 23 booths displaying various traditional foods of ASEAN member nations and 13 states of Malaysia attracted the attention of a huge number of visitors. Vietnam’s stand made deep impression on participants thanks to gastronomy culture and fruit carving art. Representatives of Vietnam Embassy in Malaysia said that the festival is a good opportunity for Vietnam to promote friendliness, unique features of Vietnamese culture and cuisine, from which to promote Vietnam tourism and draw international tourists to Vietnam. Also in the framework of the festival, a special cultural program was held with the aim to promote unique traditional art of 10 members in ASEAN. Besides, the festival also works to support ASEAN’s diplomatic activities, towards hastening the region’s integration process and the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.
Vietnam became a full member of ASEAN on 28 July 1995. Since then, Vietnam has been appreciated as a member that actively participates in activities of ASEAN as well as organizations under ASEAN. Most recently, Vietnam took part in ASEAN Traditional Culinary Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 5th 2014 by ASEAN Women’s Circles (AWC) to promote exchange and mutual understanding among the women of ASEAN member nations.