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Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang speaking at the event |
Present at the event were Director of the General Department of Political Affairs General Luong Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Defense Ministers Senior Lieutenant Generals Hoang Xuan Chien, Vu Hai San, and Le Huy Vinh.
The festival was part of the practical activities to mark the 64th anniversary of the day President Ho Chi Minh launched the lunar New Year (Tet) tree-planting festival (1959-2023) and 93rd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930 - 2023) and welcome the Year of the Cat. It also responded to the Prime Minister-launched program of planting 1 billion trees for a green Vietnam.
Addressing the event, Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang said that in the 2015-2020 period, the whole military planted nearly 11 million trees of different kinds, importantly greening bare land, barren hills, helping regulate climate, and improving ecological environment, creating green - clean - beautiful barracks. This contributed to local socio-economic development, stabilizing people's lives, generating jobs for local people, particularly those in farms and plantations under military defense-economic units.
Especially since 2021, units in the whole military have planted trees in and around their barracks and on training grounds. In 2021-2022, the whole military planted more than 7 million trees and afforested over 3,600 hectares.
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Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and other delegates planting trees after the ceremony |
The defense chief asked agencies and units in the military to launch the festival at appropriate time according to weather, soil, and crop in each locality to ensure the growth and efficiency of the trees.
General Phan Van Giang also asked them to take care of and protect the trees, work with local relevant agencies to apply advanced technologies to improving their productivity, quality and value, and review outcomes of the tree planting in a timely manner.
Forest-fire and deforestation prevention measures should be also applied together with raising local people’s awareness of planting, looking after, and protecting trees and local ecological environment.
He believed that the whole military will reap good results in tree planting and afforestation, achieving the goal of planting nearly 3.2 million trees and afforesting over 2,000 hectares in 2023.
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Hundreds of troops and youths joining the event |
After the launch, General Phan Van Giang, General Luong Cuong, and Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong and other delegates planted trees in the campus of the museum.
Translated by Mai Huong