At a press conference jointly held in Hanoi on Thursday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Thai Nguyen province, organizers said the festival will feature 12 key activities, including an international tea forum, a competition celebrating the art of tea-making, exchanges connecting Vietnam’s tea culture with countries that have long-standing tea traditions, and experiential tours of local tea-growing regions.
Speaking at the press conference, Nguyen Thi Loan, Deputy Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee and Head of the festival’s Organizing Committee, said, “The festival aims to honor tea plants, tea growers, artisans, cooperatives, and tea industry enterprises, promote the Thai Nguyen Tea brand, and introduce international friends to the province’s historical, cultural, economic, and tourism values.”
“Thai Nguyen hopes the festival will be a cultural event and a bridge connecting heritage with development, and tea culture with the tea economy,” Loan added.
Through the festival, Thai Nguyen aims to expand cooperation in tea production and processing, technology transfer, brand development, trade promotion, tourism, and sustainable agriculture.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang said that the festival plays an important role in promoting cultural diplomacy and honoring Vietnamese culture this year.
“During the event, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will officially announce the decision to include Tea Culture in Vietnam’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory. This is highly significant, providing an opportunity to showcase Vietnam, a country rich in unique cultural heritage, to international friends,” Hang noted.
Located in Vietnam’s northern midland and mountainous region, Thai Nguyen has long been renowned for its tea. Favorable soil and climate conditions, combined with generations of accumulated experience, have helped the province develop well-known tea-growing areas and earn a reputation as “Thai Nguyen – The First-Class Tea Land.”
