Vietnam reveres the late Lao President Souphanouvong, who established the Vietnam-Laos special relations, said Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan.

She made the remark at a reception in Hanoi on July 23 for a delegation of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association members and reporters who wrote about the late Lao President and his family.

The guests are in Vietnam under the framework of a programme “tracking the footsteps of President Souphanouvong” to mark the 100th anniversary of the late Lao President’s birth.

Doan told the guests that the late Lao President set foot in many different corners of Vietnam, from the north to the south, as he was in charge of designing and constructing a number of important public works for the Vietnamese people, such as the Bai Thuong dam in the central province of Thanh Hoa and the Phan Thiet water tower in Binh Thuan province.

The State leader expressed her hope that the guests would feel the deep sentiments that the Vietnamese Party, State and people reserve for President Souphanouvong and the fraternal solidarity and friendship between the Vietnamese and Lao people.

She noted that the special ties they share were fostered not only by Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Souphanouvong, but also by generations of leaders and the people themselves, and that these ties continue to grow in various fields and at all levels.

However, the Vietnamese leader pointed to the need to educate the two countries’ younger generations on this relationship to further promote it.

On behalf of other members from the delegation, Phouvong Vongphom from the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association affirmed that the solidarity, special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam are rare in the world.

The two parties, states and peoples have the responsibility to continue fostering these ties, following the wishes of the two late Presidents, Ho Chi Minh and Souphanouvong./.