President Ho Chi Minh's birthday was observed in Okayama prefecture’s Mimasaka – the first Japanese city to place his statue.

Vietnamese embassies abroad have commemorated President Ho Chi Minh on the occasion of his 129th birthday (May 19) with a series of activities.

The embassy in France held a ceremony to mark the late President’s birth anniversary in Paris on May 17, with the participation of the staff of the embassy and Vietnam’s representative offices.

Following the ceremony, the delegation laid flowers at House No. 9 on Compoint alley in Paris’s District 17, where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked from 1921 to 1923 as part of his search for the way for national salvation.

The embassy has also joined hands with authorities of the outskirts city of Montreuil city to organize a similar at the Ho Chi Minh Space in Montreau Park.

Philippe Lamarche, Montreuil’s Deputy Governor, said the locality is proud to be the city of friendship and solidarity with Vietnamese people.

He highlighted the close ties between Vietnam and Montreuil as well as the development cooperation between the French city and Vietnam’s northern port city of Hai Phong.

The Ho Chi Minh Space, which was unveiled on May 19, 2005 at the Museum of Living History, is preserving valuable objects transferred from House No. 9.

The space, together with President Ho Chi Minh’s monument at Montreau Park, has been seen as a vivid manifestation of the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and France.

Gilbert Schoon, former Director of the museum, said the space is unique in France and has attracted many tourists.

Meanwhile, officials from the Vietnamese Embassy and representative offices, along with Vietnamese in the UK on May 18 gathered at New Zealand Building in London to celebrate President Ho Chi Minh’s 129th birthday and 108 years since he left Vietnam to seek ways for national salvation (June 5).

The New Zealand Building was built on the foundation of the famous Carlton Hotel in the centre of London, where President Ho Chi Minh worked during his time in the UK from 1913-1917.

Ambassador Tran Ngoc An recalled milestones in the late President’s way in search for the way for national salvation, including his four-year stay in the UK.

The same day, a seminar was held in Okayama prefecture’s Mimasaka – the first Japanese city to place President Ho Chi Minh’s statue.

It was attended by Mimasaka’s Vice Mayor Araki Toshiaki, President of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association in Mimasaka Norimoto Takashi, and representatives of many businesses and organisations in Okayama.

President Ho Chi Minh was also commemorated at a ceremony hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Chile at the Ho Chi Minh Park in Cerro Navia district, Santiago de Chile.

Ambassador Nguyen Ngoc Son told his guests at the event that the Vietnamese Government has decided to partner with Cerro Navia’s authorities to upgrade the Ho Chi Minh Park this year, and handed over Geleximco Group’s donations to the locality to carry out the project.

The project is scheduled to be completed ahead of the Vietnamese delegation’s visit to Chile for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in November.

Cerro Navia’s Mayor Mauro Tamayo stressed that the park is a symbol of Chilean people’s sentiments towards Vietnamese people and President Ho Chi Minh.

On May 19, the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association Central Committee, the General Association of Vietnamese in Laos and the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association in Khammuon province held a ceremony in memory of the late President on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

Ho Chi Minh’s birthday observed in Chile, Singapore

The contributions made by President Ho Chi Minh to Vietnam’s freedom and independence as well as to the communist ideal and world peace and justice were highlighted at a meeting in Santiago de Chile, the capital of Chile, on May 19.

President Ho Chi Minh's birthday was observed in Santiago de Chile, the capital of Chile, on May 19.

Prominent among guests at the event were the President of the Chile-Vietnam Culture Institute Patricia Arbazúa, the mother of former President Michelle Bachelet, Angela Jeria, and delegates from the Chilean government, political and social organisations in Chile.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Nguyen Ngoc Son spoke about the late President’s tireless struggle for Vietnam’s independence and freedom and the happiness of the Vietnamese people, as well as for independence and freedom of all oppressed nations.

He announced that the Vietnamese Government has decided to cooperate with the authorities of Cerro Navia, a commune in the capital city where there is a park named after President Ho Chi Minh, to carry out the upgrade of the Ho Chi Minh Park this year.

Also on May 19, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tao Thi Thanh Huong and the Vietnamese community in the Southeast Asian country laid flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Statue in the Asian Civilisation Museum Park on the occasion of the late President’s 129th birthday and 50-year implementation of his testament.-VNA