A wide range of activities took place abroad on May 18-19 in memory of the late President Ho Chi Minh’s 123rd birthday (May 19).

On May 19, the Vietnamese Embassy staff in Russia joined with the Vietnamese community to lay a wreath at a memorial dedicated to beloved President Ho Chi Minh in Moscow.

Earlier on May 18, a similar event took place at Saint Petersburg State University.

Meanwhile in France, the embassy staff and overseas Vietnamese (OVs) offered incenses at Villa Compointe 9 in Paris, where the President lived and worked in 1921-1923, and laid a wreath at his monument in Montreau park. They visited Ho Chi Minh Space at the Museum of Living History in Montreuil city, where a photo exhibition entitled “Indochina – France – Vietnam” are running from May 15 until July 14.

In afternoon the same day, overseas Vietnamese met at a get-together to review Uncle Ho’s years in the country.

An art exhibition to introduce Vietnam’s rich arts and a music show were also held at the Vietnam Cultural Centre.

At Newhaven town in Sussex , south of England, a stone stele marking 100 years since the President first came to the UK made its debut.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Vu Quang Minh handed over a 120kg-bronze statue of Ho Chi Minh, a gift of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Management Board, to Newhaven Museum.

The same day on May 19, the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia hosted a ceremony to mark Uncle Ho’s birthday and 60 years since the traditional national patriotic emulation day (June 11) was launched.

The Vietnamese students, embassy staff and those from Vietnamese representative offices engaged in exchange activities.

A flower-offering ceremony also took place at the President Ho Chi Minh memorial in the Asia civilisation museum in Singapore.

The black marble memorial was inaugurated in May, 2008 on the occasion of his 118th birthday and the 35th anniversary of the Vietnam – Singapore diplomatic ties.

A ceremony to mark Uncle Ho’s birthday was also held in Ratnapura city, Sri Lanka on May 18.

Addressing the event, Sri Lankan Minister of Technology and Research Tissa Vitharana expressed his admiration for the late President, affirming that he not only brought independence and freedom to the Vietnamese people, but exerted a widespread influence on national liberation movements around the world.

A string of music performances got underway at the event.

As scheduled, construction on the Ho Chi Minh Monument will begin in July in the capital city of Colombo and conclude later this year.-VNA