Michelle Bachelet and "wonderful moment" with Vietnam

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet speaks at a talk at the Diplomatic Academy on April 3. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

On the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Chile (March 25, 1971 - March 25, 2023), former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet visited Vietnam. Throughout her political career, she always had special affection for President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people. In particular, during her two terms as President of Chile (2006-2010; 2014-2018), she made great contributions to the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and visited Vietnam many times.

During her return, Ms. Michelle Bachelet shared with Vietnamese reporters about her close connection with the S-shaped land, from her youth until becoming the head of the South American country.

200 km journey and happy moments

Recalling her days participating in the anti-war movement, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said that in the 1960s, many Chilean youth and students, including her, had a special affection for President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national reunification. They expressed this in many different ways.

She recalled: “At that time, Chilean youth organized a 200 km march from the port city of Valparaíso to the capital Santiago de Chile to protest the war and express their admiration for the courage of the Vietnamese people against the US army.”

Notably, she said that accompanying her to Vietnam this time was a delegation from Cerro Navia district. In 1969, at this location, people named a park after President Ho Chi Minh to express their affection for him and the Vietnamese people.

In 1970, when Salvador Allende was elected President of Chile and in the following years, Chilean youth and students continued to take to the streets to express their solidarity with the Vietnamese people. At an international forum called “Support Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia”, they spoke out strongly against the war. At that time, young people from all over the world issued a joint statement expressing solidarity and support for the just struggle of the Vietnamese people.

Therefore, the victory of the Vietnamese people in the struggle to unify the country 48 years ago (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2023) for the former President of Chile is not only a historic event for the Vietnamese people, but also a " wonderful moment" for her and the progressive youth and students who supported this struggle.

“We sang together, celebrating the victory of the Vietnamese people. We are extremely happy because you have won and finally, the day of national reunification has come.” – Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet.

Books by Vietnamese leaders at that time, along with meetings with historical figures of the S-shaped land such as General Vo Nguyen Giap later, inspired her to nurture her love for the country and people of Vietnam.

The former President of Chile affirmed: “President Ho Chi Minh would be extremely proud of what he contributed to the cause of unification in Vietnam. More precisely, it was his contributions to world peace, a peace to which Vietnam continues to make a very strong contribution today.”

Strengthening friendship

Sharing about Vietnam's current foreign policy, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet commented: "It is the wartime experiences and persistent efforts in negotiations to sign the Paris Agreement 50 years ago, an important milestone on the path to peace and national reunification that have helped Vietnam continue to maintain a flexible, dialogue-based diplomacy, which I believe is very important in today's world."

In the context of continuing threats to peace, she said the world needs more dialogue and Vietnam, from its own experience, has been making positive contributions to world peace.

Commenting on some orientations for developing Vietnam-Chile relations in the coming time, Ms. Bachelet said that this is the task that Chilean Ambassador to Vietnam Sergio Narea has been and is continuing to promote. According to her, having worked in Vietnam for 5 years, Ambassador Narea has a good understanding of the S-shaped land, which he especially loves.

During last year’s political consultations between ministries and sectors, the two sides reviewed existing areas of cooperation and new areas where cooperation could be expanded, such as defense and security. According to her, the two countries could further expand student exchanges, scientific research cooperation and many other areas. Vietnam has achieved many successes in economic development and the two countries can exchange and learn from this process.

On March 31, 2023, the delegation of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed an agreement with Binh Duong province to restore a park named after President Ho Chi Minh in Cerro Navia district, Chile. (Source: VNA)

In terms of people-to-people diplomacy, Chile has a history and tradition of solidarity with Vietnam. The two sides have cooperation projects between localities. The Chilean delegation accompanying Ms. Bachelet to Vietnam on this working trip, including representatives of Cerro Navia district, worked with the leaders of Binh Duong province. During the meeting, the leaders of Binh Duong pledged to support the restoration of the Ho Chi Minh Monument in the park named after him.

The delegation also worked with Nghe An province on the possibility of building a symbolic work about President Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and the relationship between the two countries. She said: “The two sides can digitize the images to be shown on screens at the train stations in the Cerro Navia district, the center connecting Santiago de Chile with the localities. Chilean people will know more about Vietnam through these images.”

Former President Michelle Bachelet said Chile is very interested in developing trade with Vietnam. In the context of the trade balance tilting towards Vietnam, Chile wants to import Vietnamese agricultural products such as mangoes and grapefruits. "There is still a lot of room for developing economic and trade cooperation. Our Embassy in Hanoi will make efforts to implement work in this direction," she said.

She said that Chile also sent invitations to delegations from Vietnamese ministries and sectors to visit Chile. Last year, Vietnam also sent an invitation to the Chilean President to visit. She stated: “We hope that this visit will be carried out this year, contributing to strengthening the solidarity, friendship and cooperation in many fields between the two countries.”

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Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ba-michelle-bachelet-va-khoanh-khac-tuyet-voi-cung-viet-nam-223114.html