Delegates from the Vietnamese embassy and representative offices gathered together with members of the overseas Vietnamese (OV) community in London on May 18 to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh's birthday.

They laid a wreath at New Zealand House, which used to be the five-star Carlton Hotel where Uncle Ho worked during his time in the UK.

The UK-Vietnam Friendship Association and English friends attached a plaque to the building proclaiming that Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), the Founding Father of Vietnam, worked at the former Carlton Hotel on this site in 1913.

Vietnam’s ambassador to England and Northern Ireland, Vu Quang Minh, said this year marks the 100th year since Ho Chi Minh first came to the UK.

The embassy will also present a statue of President Ho Chi Minh to the city Museum where Uncle Ho once worked.

Len Aldis, President of the UK-Vietnam Friendship Association, reviewed President Ho Chi Minh’s process to save the nation, especially from 1913 to 1917 when he worked in the UK.

After laying the wreath, the embassy held a meeting with Vietnamese students studying in the UK.

The Vietnamese embassy in Laos also held an incense offering ceremony on May 18 in honour of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday

 The event, which took place at the Ho Chi Minh memorial complex in Khammuan, was attended by a large number of OVs and students living and studying in the capital, Vientiane, and Khammuan province.

Ambassador Hung pledged to do his best to encourage Vietnamese expatriates to study and follow President Ho’s moral example.

 ***  The Sri Lanka-Vietnam Solidarity Association (SVFA) coordinated with the Vietnamese embassy in Colombo to hold a ceremony on May 18 in Ratnapurato mark his birthday.

Sri Lankan Minister of Science and Technology, Tissa Vitharana, expressed his admiration for President Ho Chi Minh's, who brought independence and freedom to Vietnam and greatly influenced the global liberation movement.

SVFA President Asoka Jayadena said President Ho Chi Minh is not only a father to the Vietnamese people but also to the people of Sri Lanka.

Vietnamese ambassador to Sri Lanka, Ton Sinh Thanh, said the Sri Lankan Government allowed a statue of Ho Chi Minh to be built in, Colombo, and an inauguration is scheduled to take place in July.

At the birth anniversary ceremony, Sri Lankan children laid wreaths on the President Ho Chi Minh altar and gave a special performance in honour of his birth anniversary.

Source: VOV