The first Asian cosmonaut in space, General Pham Tuan, shared hisexperience with language students at the Russian Science and CultureCentre in Hanoi on April 14.
The event was tocelebrate the 50th anniversary of Russian astronaut Yury Gagarin'sflight into space, man's first, in 1961. It is also to celebrate April12, the inaugural International Day of Space Flight, as designated bythe United Nations.
Tuan said he was lucky enough tobe selected, along with Russian cosmonaut Viktor Vassilyevich Gorbatko,to ride on the Soyuz 37 space shuttle in 1980. He graduated from theGagarin Military Academy in Russia in 1979.
"That trip had a very important political meaning at that time.Vietnam had just unified North and South and the then Union of SovietSocialist Republics had helped us a lot in gaining ourreunification," Tuan said.
His trip into space was a milestone for the development of Vietnamese space science and technology, he said.
Speaking at the event, organised by the Russian Embassy in Vietnam ,Minister Bezdetko Gennady said Russia was the leading country in thefield of space science and technology as well as the rocketmanufacturing industry.
Tuan's journey into spacewith Russian colleagues was evidence of the great Vietnam-Russiarelationship and the Russians hoped they would collaborate more in thefield, he said. /.