First Arabic-Vietnamese dictionary debuts

Representing the embassy at the event, Counselor Hamoud Naif S. Almutairi said Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to preserving and developing the Arabic language, and the country has made significant contributions to enhancing the status of the language, including efforts to have Arabic recognized as one of the six official languages of the UN, and one of the languages used officially in meetings of the UNESCO Executive Board.

The embassy has paid attention to popularizing the language through collaboration with the embassies of other Arab countries and Vietnamese educational institutions that are currently teaching Arabic, he said.

It has supported the compilation of the dictionary to create the best possible conditions for the relevant teaching and learning activities, thus benefiting not only students and teachers but also Vietnamese people living and working in Arabian countries, the diplomat stressed.

According to the Chairman of the Council of the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) – Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Do Tuan Minh, as the first higher education institution in Vietnam to open bachelor’s degree programs in Arabic, ULIS has made significant contributions to the training of human resources in this major over the past 27 years.

The university has made great efforts in the compilation project, aiming to serve Arabic language teaching activities within the institution and provide support for individuals who are interested in learning this language, he said.

As part of events commemorating the World Arabic Language Day, the Saudi Arabia Embassy held an Arabic poetry recitation contest for Vietnamese students studying at ULIS and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at Vietnam National University – HCMC.