Banquets held to celebrate 74th National Day

ABO/NDO - Authorities of Ho Chi Minh City hosted a banquet on August 30 in celebration of the 74th National Day of Vietnam (September 2, 1945-2019).

The event was attended by Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, Nguyen Thanh Phong; Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Council, Nguyen Thi Le; and Chairwoman of the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, To Thi Bich Chau.

It also saw the presence of foreign consul generals and their spouses, along with representatives of foreign consulates, economic-trade-cultural agencies, foreign business associations, and international and non-governmental organisations in the city.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Nguyen Thanh Phong (fourth from left) and delegates at the banquet (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

In his opening speech, Chairman Phong recalled that 73 years ago, under the leadership of then President Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people rose up in the great August Revolution to regain national independence and establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, opening a new era of independence, self-reliance, freedom and social progress for the nation.

The patriotic spirit and the will of the August Revolution has motivated the Vietnamese people to embrace all hardships and challenges to win the struggle for national liberation and reunification and succeeded in national reform, development and integration, he hailed.

He emphasised that Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee, authorities and people have exerted every effort to realise its development goals and deserve the status as the economic locomotive of Vietnam.

In the first half of this year, the city attained a growth rate of 7.8% and attracted roughly VND3.2 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), up 20% year-on-year.

The official also thanked foreign friends for their practical contributions to local development, expressing his hope that foreign consulates, organisations and enterprises will continue assisting HCM City in realising its set development goals.

On behalf of foreign consuls in the city, Consul General of Russia Aleksey V. Popov extended his congratulations on Vietnam’s National Day, describing September 2, 1945, as a great historical event marking the establishment of the first State of workers and farmers in Southeast Asia and also heralding the major achievements in the struggle for national independence, liberation and development efforts.

He also congratulated HCM City on its development achievements, haling that the city has always taken the lead in socio-economic reforms and proven its role as an important gateway for trade, economic, investment, technological and cultural exchanges in Asia-Pacific.

He thanked local authorities for creating favourable conditions for foreign consulates to fulfil their duties while pledging to make further efforts to consolidate the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between foreign countries and Vietnam, particularly HCM City.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia hosted a similar banquet in Phnom Penh on the same day to mark the 73rd National Day, during which delegates were briefed on Vietnam’s socio-economic and diplomatic achievements over the past 74 years.

On behalf of the Cambodian Government, Tourism Minister Thong Khon extolled the significant achievements made by the Vietnamese people over the past seven decades,

He also congratulated Vietnam on becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for 2020-2021 with 192 votes of the total 193 UN member countries, which reflects the international recognition of Vietnam’s contributions to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world at large.

Cambodia will work with other ASEAN member countries to ensure the success of ASEAN events to be hosted by Vietnam in 2020 when Vietnam plays the role of the ASEAN Chair, he pledged.

(Source: NDO)