Havana (VNA) – The Communist Party and State of Cuba helda meeting on September 12 to mark 45 years since the first visit by FidelCastro to Vietnam, with the participation of around 400 delegates, activistsand diplomats.

Prominent at the event were Politburo member and President of the CubanNational Assembly of People’s Power Esteban Lazo Hernández, Politburo memberand Secretary of the Party Central Committee Mercedes López Ácea, Politburomember and General Secretary of the Cuban Workers’ Federation Ulises Guilartede Nacimiento, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the PartyCentral Committee’s Department of External Relations José Ramón Balaguer, andmany senior officials.

Addressing the ceremony, Vietnam’s Ambassador to Cuba Nguyen Trung Thanhaffirmed that the Vietnam-Cuba relationship is a special and unique one, andevery generation of Vietnamese love and respect the heroic Cuban country andFidel - the legendary leader.

Looking back at Fidel’s first trip visit to Vietnam, the Ambassadorstressed that despite the danger, the General Commander was firm in his wish tovisit the battle field and the people in southern Vietnam. He became the onlyforeign head of State to have cross the Parallel 17 to visit a liberated regionin southern Vietnam during the anti-US resistance war.

Holding high photos of the historic trip of Fidel to Quang Tri province,Ambassador Thanh said the leader’s remarks and actions had become a source ofvaluable encouragement for Vietnamese soldiers and people during their strugglefor national independence and freedom.


The celebration of Fidel’s Vietnam visit in September 1973 also honoursthe solidarity, the exemplary friendship and comprehensive cooperation betweenthe two nations, the ambassador said.

Politburo member and Secretary of the Party Central Committee MercedesLópez Acea recalled the similarities between the two nations in their ideologyand aspiration for independence and freedom, despite the great geographicaldistance, which made them become loyal fighting comrades on both thebattlefield and the ideological front.

He said he believes the Vietnamese and Cuban people will continue theirpath to prosperous and sustainable socialism, guided by the ideology of theirheroes and fallen soldiers, and maintain their close bonds despite theincreasingly complicated developments in the international arena and the dangersthreatening humankind as a whole.


On the occasion, participants at the meeting was treated to a playstaged by the Colmenita children’s troupe based on José Martí’s classic work Ajourney through the land of the Annamese, and art performances of Cuban andVietnamese artists and students.

The series of activities marking 45 years since Fidel’s first visit toVietnam will end on September 17.-VNA