Scholars from Vietnam, India and other countries including Australia and Belgium exchanged views on Buddhism’s role as a social and cultural bridge and a source of global peace at an international conference in India’s Bhubaneswar city on February 8-9.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink on January 15 performed the Vietnamese traditional New Year ritual of releasing carps into a lake to bid farewell to the Kitchen Gods at Kim Lien pagoda in Hanoi.

The VFUA on January 15 hosted an international conference in Hanoi to discuss measures for conserving and upholding the values of culture heritages recognized by UNESCO.

An exchange conference on religious affairs was held by the Vietnamese Government Committee for Religious Affairs and the Cambodian Ministry of Religions and Cults in the province of An Giang on January 7.

Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Vũ Chiến Thắng hosted on December 30 a reception for a visiting delegation led by Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on December 22 to celebrate the 60th year since then Indian President Rajendra Prasad gifted a Bodhi tree to Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh in 1959.

The Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Republic of Korea (RoK) held a spring festival at Heungryunsa pagoda, Incheon city on the December 21, on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year festival.

Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình held talks with his Lao counterpart Bounthong Chitmany and met with National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou on December 10 as part of his official visit to Laos. 

Over the past seven decades, Vietnam has significantly contributed to human rights. The country has struggled to defend national independence and reunification to ensure that all Vietnamese can fully enjoy human rights, including the right to live in peace, independence, and freedom, and to decide their own faith and growth.

An international seminar on secularity and religion in Southeast Asia took place on December 05 in Hanoi.

An international symposium was held in Vientiane on December 9 to discuss the history and development orientations of Vietnamese Buddhism in Laos.

Most Venerable Thích Huệ Thông, Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) Executive Committee in Binh Duong province hosted on December 4 a reception for a visiting delegation of Buddhist dignitaries from Cambodia led by Great Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong.

The sermon on the “Relevance of Buddhist Teachings to Modern Life” was delivered by Doctor Most Venerable (Dr. Most Ven.) Mirisse Dhammika Thero in Quan Su pagoda (Hanoi) on November 29. Over 100 delegates from Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India were present at the session.

Vietnamese handicrafts and traditional cuisine were on display at the International Christmas Festival held in Prague, Czech Republic on December 1.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) handed over 100 tons of rice to victims of the tropical storm Idai and Kennth in Mozambique, which devastated the African country’s central region in March and April this year, at a meeting held on November 26 in Maputo.