Ambassador Vu Trung My: Where there are Vietnamese, there is Tet

Ambassador Vu Trung My (far right) with Vietnamese Embassy staff in Venezuela making Chung cakes for Tet. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela)

Vietnam's Ambassador to Venezuela, Vu Trung My, shared with The World and Vietnam Report about the traditional Tet atmosphere of the Year of the Horse 2026 in this South American country.

Ambassador, as the year comes to a close and people in Vietnam are eagerly preparing for reunions, how do the diplomatic staff in Caracas – halfway around the world from Vietnam – feel? What is unique about celebrating Tet in the tropical land of South America compared to the atmosphere back home?

Whether seasoned diplomats or young officials, each Tet brings a unique "pause" in our hearts. Halfway around the world from Vietnam, while loved ones and friends are bustling in the cold of the North or the warm sun of the South, we in Caracas welcome Tet amidst the bright sunshine characteristic of the Caribbean.

While people in Vietnam are busy buying peach blossoms and apricot flowers, we in Caracas remain engrossed in agendas, promoting bilateral cooperation. However, deep inside, there's a pause when looking at the calendar, wondering if the family back home has made offerings to the Gods of Kitchen. This homesickness transforms into motivation to organize a warm Tet for the Vietnamese community here.

Personally, I believe one of the biggest and warmest differences is the community bond. In this distant place, the Embassy is not just a workplace but truly a family. As Tet approaches, Embassy staff clean, cook, and share stories of past Tet celebrations. Material shortages and distances are filled with warm affection among expatriates. We remind each other: "Where there are Vietnamese, there is Tet".

Vietnamese Embassy staff in Venezuela are busy preparing for Tet. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela)

This year, how has the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela prepared to bring a warm Tet atmosphere to the Vietnamese community here?

To provide the warmest and most complete Tet atmosphere for the Vietnamese community in Venezuela, a small but always united community, our Embassy began preparations quite early.

We believe that when stepping into the Embassy, the community should feel the traditional space of the nation. Therefore, recreating the traditional Tet atmosphere is one of our top priorities.

Frankly, Venezuela is one of the luckier locations compared to our other embassies in Latin America. With a climate quite similar to Vietnam, we can find peach blossoms, both single and double petals, not much different from those in Nhat Tan. Making Chung cakes is also not difficult, as the Embassy garden already has a patch of dong leaves, planted by previous Embassy staff. Buying glutinous rice and green beans is also easy, as these items (though not as delicious as the "Nep Cai Hoa Vang") are available at the local Chinese community market.

Additionally, the Embassy also dedicates time to prepare and organize the Community Homeland Spring program with the participation of the entire community and local friends, especially in recent years, with the attendance of many friends and leaders from the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Despite being halfway around the world from our homeland and in conditions with many material limitations, with thorough preparation and sincere affection, we believe that every Vietnamese in Venezuela will feel the warmth of their homeland, stepping into a new year with more hope and success.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela Vu Trung My. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela)

Ambassador, through Tet activities, what message do you want to convey to the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in Venezuela, especially as our country enters a new era – the era of national resurgence following the 14th Party Congress?

In the sacred atmosphere of traditional Tet days, as we reflect on the past year and look to the future, on behalf of the Embassy, I wish to send sincere and hopeful messages to the entire Vietnamese community in Venezuela.

Although we are halfway around the world from our homeland, "blood is thicker than water", every Vietnamese in Venezuela, as well as in other assigned areas, is an inseparable part of the national unity bloc.

I hope that everyone continues to support and love each other, building a strong community, abiding by local laws, and always preserving Vietnamese cultural identity. The success and stability of each individual and family are the most practical contributions to the image and reputation of Vietnam in the host country.

Our country stands at a historical threshold with major orientations from the 14th Party Congress. The message of a national resurgence era is not only for the people at home but also a call to all our overseas compatriots.

The Embassy always hopes that the Vietnamese community maintains faith in the country's development, continuously learns, innovates, and seeks new economic and cultural cooperation opportunities to contribute intellect and resources to the country's industrialization and modernization. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we should be proud to be Vietnamese, carrying the aspiration to elevate our nation alongside the world's powers.

Vibrant check-in corner at the Embassy. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela)

Throughout your years in diplomacy, especially in Latin America, is there a Tet memory that particularly moved or concerned you, perhaps about the camaraderie and solidarity shining in a distant land or the warm, sincere affection from Latin American friends?

During my student life and diplomatic work, especially in the passionate land of Latin America, I have had the honor of celebrating 16 Tet holidays away from home with many memories. In this article, I would like to share a few unforgettable memories, such as celebrating the Year of the Snake 2025 with the Vietnamese community in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

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As a small community of just over 20 people, mostly engaged in small businesses around the capital, Port of Spain, everyone is very united and close-knit. Upon hearing that the Embassy delegation would visit, everyone made efforts to arrange their work, gathering early to prepare traditional Vietnamese dishes together.

At this community gathering to welcome the New Year of the Snake, I tasted Chung cake with molasses for the first time, a specialty of Ha Tinh, prepared by Vietnamese expatriates from Nghe An. Honestly, enjoying a piece of Chung cake dipped in molasses was deeply reminiscent of my homeland.

A particularly warm memory was from colleagues at the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs for me and the Embassy staff. No matter how busy, on the first day of Tet, Deputy Minister Tatiana Pugh Moreno, former Venezuelan Ambassador to Vietnam, would personally visit to wish us a happy new year. She and her daughter, who also worked in Vietnam, would handcraft lucky money envelopes for the children of Embassy staff. This year will be no different, as a few days ago, Deputy Minister Tatiana called to ask, "When is the first day of Tet this year?"

These memories remind me that even far from home, in distant Latin America, we Vietnamese are never alone. The community's affection and the sincerity of the local people are the "fuel" that keeps the Vietnamese flame burning brightly in this region. It is the clearest testament that wherever we go, whatever we do, the spirit of the nation and human connection are the strongest bonds that unite us.

Venezuelan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tatiana Pugh Moreno wishes the Embassy a happy new year. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela)

The year 2025 witnessed many efforts to promote cooperation between the two countries in all fields. Ambassador, in the new year 2026, what breakthroughs do we expect in the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Venezuela to match the good sentiments between the two peoples?

Entering the new year 2026, as our country is full of momentum in the era of national resurgence, I expect Vietnam-Venezuela relations to shift from "warm sentiments" to "breakthrough effectiveness" with the following focuses:

Firstly, realizing agricultural cooperation projects. Venezuela possesses vast agricultural potential with about 35 million hectares of farmland, three times the size of Vietnam, along with well-invested irrigation systems and a favorable climate. The Venezuelan government is actively inviting investment, especially ready to allocate 100,000 hectares of land for Vietnamese investors to develop rice and aquaculture.

Therefore, implementing the Action Plan for agricultural cooperation between the two Ministries of Agriculture for 2026-2030 will be the time to bring Vietnamese rice varieties, food crops, and farming techniques to a larger scale in Venezuela. The goal is not only to help them ensure food security but also to open opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural enterprises to expand regionally.

Secondly, restarting and renewing energy and oil cooperation, which is Venezuela's traditional strength and Vietnam's strategic need. In 2026, we expect barriers to continue being removed for joint oil and gas projects to make substantial progress. Besides traditional oil and gas, both sides can also exchange experiences in green energy transition – a trend that Vietnam is pursuing vigorously.

Thirdly, promoting cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges as "soft power". The two countries will enhance scholarship programs, student exchanges, and introduce Vietnamese cultural, artistic, and culinary products more deeply into Venezuelan life, laying the groundwork for tourism and service development.

Additionally, the Embassy will continue to play a more active role in connecting business associations, organizing online and in-person trade forums. We expect to see more "Made in Vietnam" products in the Venezuelan market and vice versa, your strong products finding their way to Vietnamese consumers.

I believe that with high political trust and determination from both sides, 2026 will be a "pivotal year" for us to witness concrete achievements, elevating the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries to a new height, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both nations.

Our aspiration is not only to keep the friendship flame warm but to turn it into a driving force for stronger development together in the new era.

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

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