Amid the resounding echoes of gongs at the Southeast Asian Gong Harmony Festival in late 2025, one diplomat listened not merely with protocol, but with profound affection. For more than four decades, Ambassador Saadi Salama of the State of Palestine has carried within him a deep and abiding love for Vietnam — a bond shaped by shared histories of resilience and sacrifice. From the land of ancient olive trees to the highlands of Central Vietnam, his journey is one of empathy, devotion, and a heart that has quietly found its second home.
Ambassador Saadi Salama (left) receives the title of Honorary Citizen of the Capital.
A Dream of Youth
“For any Palestinian during those years, Vietnam was a very familiar name... More than anyone else, Palestinians understood, empathized with, and rejoiced in following that nation’s struggle for independence. We saw in it an inspiring historical story that awakened aspirations for our own future,” Ambassador Saadi Salama reflected thoughtfully over a fragrant cup of coffee on a misty morning in the mountain city of Da Lat.
After graduating from high school, he joined the Palestinian revolution and had opportunities to study in several advanced countries, including Italy and Romania. While considering destinations for overseas study, he learned that Vietnam offered scholarships to several Palestinian students. He immediately chose Vietnam to pursue studies in history and culture at Hanoi General University in 1980. To him, Vietnam was more than a destination; it was a dream he longed to explore—a place to learn from and understand, in order to distill practical lessons for the Palestinian cause
Ambassador Saadi Salama
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During my youth, I gradually realized that Vietnam and Palestine shared striking similarities. It is a history marked by many wounds and layered losses, which in turn forged a resilient and heroic spirit. Perhaps this was what opened the door for me to love Vietnam in a very special way.
Forty-five years after first arriving in Vietnam, including more than 20 years living and working in the country he has always considered his second homeland, he has served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine to Vietnam since 2009. Vietnam also holds a permanent place in his heart, as he built his own family happiness with a Vietnamese wife and their four now-grown children.
Ambassador Saadi Salama takes pride in the precious milestones of his diplomatic career, including serving as interpreter for the late Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, during meetings with Party General Secretary Do Muoi and General Vo Nguyen Giap on the Chairman’s visits to Vietnam. He has also had the honor of attending the National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam six times as an invited guest.
The Southeast Asian Gong Harmony Festival 2025. Photo: Quang Vu
A Heart for Vietnam
Attending the Southeast Asian Gong Harmony Festival 2025 - a highlight marking the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO inscription of the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands as a Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - Ambassador Saadi Salama delivered a profound speech in Vietnamese. He affirmed that within Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage, gong culture holds an especially significant place. This unique form of folk music has become a sacred symbol closely tied to the spiritual life, beliefs, and community activities of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands.
In meetings with leaders of Lam Dong Province and international delegations attending the festival, Ambassador Saadi Salama emphasized that Lam Dong possesses numerous strengths, particularly in agriculture, especially high-quality vegetables, fruits, and agricultural products. These provide an important foundation for the province to develop agricultural tourism linked with cultural values and gradually assert its position in the region.
Deeply attached to Vietnam, and turning page by page through what he calls the book of Vietnamese culture, he shared that he learned Vietnamese with passion and respect for the land and its people , far from his homeland of Palestine, a nation symbolized by the enduring olive tree, in order to know, understand, and cherish the history and culture of a resilient and tradition-rich people.
The Southeast Asian Gong Harmony Festival 2025. Photo: Quang Vu
In early 2023, Ambassador Saadi Salama launched his 300-page book, “My Vietnam Story,” recounting his journey of studying, living, and working in Vietnam. The book was written over nearly five years. In the foreword, Nguyen Quang Thieu, President of the Vietnam Writers’ Association, wrote: “His reflections on the people and country of Vietnam enable Vietnamese themselves to discover new beauties in their own culture.”
Ambassador Saadi Salama has also translated the book “Dien Bien Phu – Five Miracles Never Seen in the History of War” by author Mai Trong Tuan, as well as several poems from “Prison Diary” by President Ho Chi Minh, into Arabic so that Palestinians and other Arab nations may gain deeper understanding of Vietnam.
Living like a Vietnamese, the diplomat , alongside his efforts to promote friendship and cooperation , enjoys a simple daily life, such as shopping at traditional markets and strolling around Hoan Kiem Lake in the evenings.
“I am not a passing visitor to Vietnam. Within me, there is a very large part that is Vietnam!” said Ambassador Saadi Salama- recently awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the Capital- his eyes shining with pride and happiness.
