A delegation of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) led by head of its culture committee Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac is making a monthlong working visit to Europe from April 12, as part of its activities to popularise Vietnam’s Buddhist cultural identity to Vietnamese communities abroad.

In a meeting with staff of the staff Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium on April 21, Lac said many Buddhist associations and culture centres under the VBS have been set up in 33 countries and territories worldwide.

The Most Venerable highlighted the significance of the four projects on language, Dharma costume, architecture and heritage, saying that they are hoped to contribute to preserving and promoting the traditional identity and culture and language of the nation, thus promoting the image of land, people and culture of Vietnam to the world.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the European Union (EU) Nguyen Van Thao emphasised that the Party and State always consider the overseas Vietnamese affairs as the responsibility of the entire political system and people.

He highly valued SBV’s activities to strengthen the solidarity of the overseas Vietnamese communities.

Within the framework of the visit, Venerable Thich Tho Lac attended a ceremony to kick off the construction of Dong Tam Pagoda in Erfurt in Germany on April 17. The Vietnamese architecture pagoda is hoped to be a spiritual tourist destination for international friends and those who love the Vietnamese Buddhist culture.

The official also visited pagodas in Paris and Brussels./.