Cuba joins Vietnam's Independence Day celebrations

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 2 (ACN) A tribute to Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in Havana today joined the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the independence and founding of the then Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a date that the people of the Asian nation joyfully celebrate this September 2.

Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP by its Spanish acronym), the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association, and the Vietnamese embassy paid tribute to the beloved Uncle Ho in the park that bears his name, with a floral offering and a recollection of the history of solidarity that closely links the two countries.

Fernando Gonzalez Llort, president of ICAP, highlighted the successful visit to Vietnam of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and his participation in the grand parade and events marking the national holiday.

Gonzalez Llort emphasized that this is also a celebration for the Cuban people, emphasizing that similar events were held in each of the Vietnam Friendship Centers in the provinces, with the enthusiasm of children in schools just beginning their school year; in cooperatives; and in sports and production centers.

The new generations of Cubans have learned about the history of Vietnam and its struggles; they know modern Vietnam and what that heroic people have achieved since their independence, especially in the last fifty years, since the total and definitive victory over Yankee imperialism in April 1975.

If for Vietnam, Cubans were and will be willing to give our blood, as Fidel Castro expressed and President Diaz-Canel has ratified, the Vietnamese continue demonstrating their friendship, he emphasized, and exemplified the massive popular response to the "65 Years of Vietnam-Cuba Solidarity" Campaign, launched in that nation and which will extend for 65 days with the participation of almost 2 million people in just three weeks.

Vietnam has reaffirmed its support for the just cause of the Cuban people and the struggle to end the US-imposed blockade on Cuba in multiple international forums, he insisted, and asserted: "The friendly ties between Cuba and Vietnam will continue strengthening into a brotherhood relationship unlike any other in the world."