A series of activities were held by the Vietnamese Embassies in Asian and European countries over the last few days to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (December 22, 1944-2014).

During a December 22 ceremony attended by Lao Vice President Bounnhang Volachit and Deputy Prime Ministers Somsavad Lengsavad and Phankham Viphavanh, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Manh Hung reviewed the formation, development, and resounding victories of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), such as the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954 that ended the French colonial rule in Indochina, the “Dien Bien Phu on air” Campaign in 1972 that defeated the US airstrike in Hanoi, and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975 that liberated southern Vietnam and reunified the country.

Nowadays, the VPA is further developed so as to firmly safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, while actively and proactively integrating into the international community and increasing cooperation with armies around the world, especially with the Lao People’s Army, he said.

At a similar ceremony the same day held by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Attaché’s Office in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Banh said under the sagacious leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the VPA has continuously developed and fulfilled the international mission of helping his country abolish the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime in January 1979.

The Cambodian and Vietnamese armies have been standing side by side throughout history and will expand their mutual support in the future, he added.

On this occasion, the Royal Cambodian Army organised a photo exhibition on the solidarity and cooperation between the two armies.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials and war veterans highly valued the heroic tradition of the VPA while attending a December 22 ceremony marking its 70th founding anniversary hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Kiev.

They voiced their wish for strengthened friendship and multifaceted cooperation, including in defence, between the two nations.

On December 21, the Vietnamese community in Germany also marked the VPA’s foundation with a number of activities across the European country.-VNA