The 2019 International Food Festival will be held on December 8 at the Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound. (Photo vietnamnet.vn)

The International Food Festival is an annual cultural and charity fundraising event hosted by the Service Department for Diplomatic Corps, featuring around 120 pavilions representing embassies, foreign relations departments, non-governmental organisations and foreign cultural centres in Vietnam.

The event is sponsored by Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga, spouse of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh.

According to the organisers, the 2019 International Food Festival aimed to enhance cultural exchanges and mutual understanding among countries.

It would also introduce Vietnam to international friends via embassies and foreign cultural centres, and help local enterprises and provinces to promote their brands and products.

The festival also has a humanitarian purpose with the donations and contributions from participating organisations and individuals and proceeds to be donated to charitable activities implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Last year the festival raised nearly 2.6 billion VND (112,000 USD), which was donated to handicapped people, orphans and the poor.

In recent years, the organisers have donated funds for the construction of Binh Thuat Kindergarten in the northern province of Yen Bai, a new bridge in the southern province of Long An and 10 scholarships for students in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, to name but a few.

The highlight of the event will be a ceremony to present gifts to children at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, disadvantaged women from Sin Suoi Ho Commune in the northern province of Lai Chau, and 10 wheelchairs for children suffering from cerebral palsy.

Visitors can also enjoy musical performances, participate in a cooking contest and purchase traditional handicrafts from many countries./.VNA