A live television programme linking the capital cities of Vietnam, Laos and France was broadcasted on July 31 to mark President Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday and the 20th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of him as “a hero of national liberation and a great man of culture”.

The event, also part of a series of activities to herald the 1,000 th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, was jointly organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, the VTC, the Lao National Television, and the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam UNESCO Delegation to France .

During 45 minutes in Vientiane there were performances of songs on Hanoi and Uncle Ho in both Vietnamese and Lao languages by overseas Vietnamese and Lao artists. There also included activities highlighting the Vietnam-Laos special solidarity.

Present at the event, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phongloun Sisoulith said the programme offered the Lao and French people, especially overseas Vietnamese, a chance to gain better understanding of Vietnamese culture.

In Paris, Vietnamese ambassador Le Kinh Tai said this event aimed to promote cultural ties and traditional friendship between Vietnam and France.

He said from now to the end of this year, the Vietnamese Embassy in France will host two exhibitions on Hanoi . It will collaborate with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Vietnam Airlines to organise a “Vietnamese day’ at the UNESCO’s headquarters.

Other activities will also be held during the said time, including “tourism space”, “Vietnamese month” and “Vietnamese goods fair”, said the diplomat.

On the occasion, Philippe Chaplain, President of the France national heritage federation, expressed his love for Hanoi .

He said over the past years, he has collected up to 2,000 postcards and documents on Hanoi and tends to exhibit them together with photos by photographer Daniel Fryman in Hanoi on September 23-28./.