(VOVworld) – “Ho Chi Minh City – Development and Integration 2015” festival opened at 23/9 Park on Thursday.

An art performance kicks off the festival. (Photo: Thanh Vu/VNA)

Addressing the opening ceremony, Hua Ngoc Thuan, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said the festival offers a venue for international friends to get together, learn, and integrate into the city’s cultural life, help other countries promote their cultures, and strengthen friendship and solidarity among countries.

Thuan said the municipal authorities will help foreigners live and work there.

The 4-day festival will include an exhibit on Ho Chi Minh City’s diplomatic activities, a show of traditional costumes from different regions, food stalls introducing food made by foreigners, and Vietnamese cooking contests.

Foreign visitors to the opening ceremony visit gastronomy stalls at the fest. (Photo: Quang Dinh)

The event’s participants include the embassies and consulates of 16 countries, representatives of diplomatic agencies, international organizations, joint-ventures, and foreign invested businesses, and many tourists and students.