The Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association (SVFA) in coordination with the Vietnamese community in Switzerland held Solidarity Day 2023 in Zurich on December 3 to strengthen solidarity and mutual support between people of the two countries for peace and friendship among nations in the world, VNA reported.

The event also drew the participation of representatives of the Vietnamese community in France and Italy.

Y Thong, Deputy Minister and Vice Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, at Solidarity Day with Vietnam in Zurich. Source: VNA

In his remarks at the event, Y Thong, Deputy Minister and Vice Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs said that the Vietnamese Party, State, and people always appreciate SVFA’s spiritual and material support as well as its projects in Vietnam which contribute to settling consequences of war and reducing poverty in the country; along with the contributions of the Association of Vietnamese in Switzerland and the Vietnamese community in general towards their homeland, through many meaningful activities such as teaching Vietnamese to children and maintaining Vietnamese cultural identity.

Since its foundation in 1982, the association has organized many activities to support victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, bombs and mines, leprosy patients, and children living in difficulties in different localities in Vietnam.

He also affirmed that the SVFA and the Association of Vietnamese in Switzerland always support and coordinate with the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland, as well as Vietnam’s Permanent Mission in Geneva in activities aiming at promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges and collecting donations to help disadvantaged people in Vietnam.

Attending the event, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of Vietnam's Permanent Mission to the UN, the World Trade Organization, and other organizations in Geneva recalled the association's contributions over the past years.

She hoped that members of SVFA and the Association of Vietnamese in Switzerland would continue to maintain and expand the activities of the two associations.

A performance of students from Binh Minh School at the event. Photo: VNA

President of the SVFA Anjuska Weil expressed her belief that with the support of the Vietnamese Embassy in Bern and the Vietnamese Mission in Geneva, more projects supporting the needy in Vietnam will be carried out in the future.

“Today, I am very happy that everyone came here with the desire to contribute to the success of the event. We always strive to show solidarity for difficult cases in Vietnam," she added.

Also participating in the 2023 Solidarity Day in Zurich were representatives from the Vietnamese community in France and Italy, as well as students studying at Binh Minh School.

The event took place in a joyful and warm atmosphere with many rich and diverse programs such as singing and puppet performances by children and students of Binh Minh school, and performances by singer Bich Huong came from Bologna, along with many other musical performances from the Vietnamese community in Switzerland.

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