(VOV) - Tens of thousands of people attended the opening ceremony of Hue Festival 2014 at Ngo Mon Square in the former imperial city of Hue on Saturday evening. Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that Vietnamese culture plays a pivotal role in bolstering socio-economic development and the impetus for projecting the country towards a more democratic and civilized society.



The Deputy PM stressed the need to preserve and uphold the traditional values of the nation, especially in the current process of international integration. He highlighted the invaluable contributions the cultural heritages of Hue city have made to socio economic development, as a feature attraction drawing millions from around the world to the region annually. Deputy PM Phuc said: “The Thua Thien Hue provincial authorities are urged to closely coordinate with relevant local ministries and agencies in the organization of Hue Festival in the future, to make it more lively and unique, to attract more and more visitors. The top priority of this Festival is to introduce the beautiful images of the Vietnamese people and the country’s land to our international friends throughout the world.”



With the theme “Cultural heritages with integration and development”, the week-long Hue Festival is part of the East Asian- Latin American cultural exchange forum initiated by the Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A Cultural and Art ministerial meeting of ASEAN+3 group, international dance and cuisine festivals, as well as many other cultural and art activities will take place during the Hue festival.