The northern central province of Thanh Hoa held a ceremony on October 28 to mark the 60th year since the day it welcomed the arrival of cadres, soldiers and revolutionaries who relocated from the south under the 1954 Geneva agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam.

President Truong Tan Sang and delegates at the event recalled that together with cadres and soldiers, the Party, State and President Ho Chi Minh decided to move tens of thousands of revolutionaries as well as their families and children to the north, both to help the cause of socialism construction in the north and to train human resources for the struggle to liberate the south.

Chosen to be the first port of call for the relocated people, Sam Son town in Thanh Hoa province did its best to provide a warm welcome despite the poor economic conditions at that time.

Addressing the ceremony, President Truong Tan Sang extended his greetings to millions of people and soldiers in both the north and the south, including those who relocated to the north 60 years ago, who have fought bravely and made heroic sacrifice to the fatherland’s independence and freedom.

The anniversary offers an opportunity to recall an important event in the nation’s revolutionary history, he said, adding that the Party and the Vietnamese as a whole are proud about the tradition of great unity and the strong will of the nation for national freedom throughout its thousand-year history.

Earlier the same day, President Truong Tan Sang attended the ground-breaking ceremony for a memorial site dedicated to the relocated southern people at the Hoi port in Quang Tien Ward, Sam Son town.-VNA