Vientiane (VNA) – The Vietnamese Embassy in Laos has held a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30) within the framework of a photo exhibition running in Vientiane from April 22-30.
In his address, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Minh Tam recalled that half a century ago, under the sound leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Spring General Offensive and Uprising 1975, with its peak being the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign, secured a resounding and glorious victory. This triumph put an end to the prolonged and heroic resistance war against the US, marking one of the greatest feats in Vietnam’s thousand-year struggle for national construction and defence.
The victory brought immense joy and inspiration to progressive movements and peace lovers worldwide, laying a foundation for Vietnam’s subsequent process of reconstruction and development and serving as a shining symbol of unity among the Vietnamese people, army and public security forces in the common struggle for national independence and freedom.
Tam further highlighted the victory’s special significance for the Lao revolution, stressing that the April 30, 1975 triumph served as a source of encouragement and a decisive impetus for the Lao people and army to rise up, seize power, and ultimately establish the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on December 2, 1975.
Underscoring the Vietnam – Laos combat alliance as a cornerstone of the historic victory, Tam said the Vietnamese Party and State will never forget the immense support by socialist countries, peace lovers in the world and people from the three Indochinese nations.
To build on this legacy and foster the special Vietnam – Laos relationship, the ambassador outlined a series of orientations, including consistently applying and creatively adapting Marxism – Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought to Vietnam’s contemporary realities, continuing to accelerate the renewal (Doi Moi) process while steadfastly adhering to the core principles of Party building and political system reform, preserving independence and self-reliance while ensuring maximum national interests through basic principles of international law. He also called for the consistent and creative pursuit of a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation, among others.
In his conclusion, the diplomat expressed his profound gratitude to generations of revolutionary predecessors and heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the cause of national liberation and the shared revolutionary journey of Vietnam and Laos. He called on the younger generation to carry forward the torch of patriotism, national pride, and a deep sense of responsibility in the ongoing mission of national construction and defence./.
