Cuba awards the Jose Marti Medal to General Secretary and President To Lam

After the successful conclusion of the talks, First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz Canel Bermudez presided over the ceremony to award the Jose Marti Medal to General Secretary and President To Lam.

First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz Canel Bermudez presents the Jose Marti Medal to General Secretary and President To Lam. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

According to the special correspondent of VNA, on the evening of September 26 local time at the Revolution Palace in the capital Havana, after successfully concluding the talks, First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz Canel Bermudez presided over the ceremony to award the Jose Marti Medal to General Secretary and President To Lam.

This is the most noble award of the Cuban Party and State to recognize the invaluable contributions of General Secretary and President To Lam to the development of solidarity, friendship and loyalty between the Party, State and people of Vietnam and Cuba.

Attending this solemn ceremony were the wife of the General Secretary and President, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly; Politburo members: Nguyen Hoa Binh, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Office of the Prime Minister; Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense; Nguyen Trong Nghia, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda Department; Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Public Security. In addition, there were also Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central External Relations Department Le Hoai Trung, and Party Central Committee members who are official members of the Vietnamese High-Level Delegation.

On the Cuban side, there were the wife of the First Secretary and President of Cuba, Ms. Lis Cuesta Peraza; Politburo members: Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly; Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister; Roberto Morales Ojeda, Permanent Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba; Alvaro Lopez Miera, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces; Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, Minister of the Interior; Emilio Lozada Garcia, Head of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and many other high-ranking leaders.

At the beginning of the Jose Marti Medal award ceremony, after the honor guard took their positions, the military band played the national anthems of the two countries.

This was followed by a speech by the leaders of the Cuban Party and State, highlighting the great contributions of General Secretary and President To Lam to the cause of building and defending the socialist country of Vietnam, as well as his tireless efforts to foster and consolidate the solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the Parties, States and people of the two countries.

First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz Canel Bermudez personally presented and pinned the Jose Marti Medal on General Secretary and President To Lam's chest.

Speaking at the ceremony, General Secretary and President To Lam expressed his emotion and honor to receive the highest medal of the Cuban Party and State, directly presented by First Secretary and President Miguel Diaz Canel.

On behalf of the Party, State and people of Vietnam, the General Secretary and President expressed his sincere and deep gratitude for the sentiments and recognition of the leaders of the Party, State and people of Cuba for their efforts and contributions to the development of the solidarity and friendship between the Parties, States and people of Vietnam and Cuba.

The General Secretary and President stated that the awarding of the Jose Marti Medal to the comrade personally vividly demonstrates the respect of the Cuban Party, State and people for the special friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba, which was painstakingly cultivated by revolutionary leaders Jose Marti, Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro, and generations of leaders and people of the two countries and has been tested over time.

Quoting President Ho Chi Minh that “Vietnam and Cuba are thousands of miles apart, but the hearts of the two peoples are as close as brothers in the same family” as well as the famous saying “For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to sacrifice its blood” by leader Fidel Castro, General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that he always remembers and appreciates the strong support and wholehearted assistance that the Party, State and people of Cuba have given to the Vietnamese people in their struggle for national independence in the past, as well as in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland today.

General Secretary and President To Lam speaks. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

The General Secretary and President was pleased to see that over the years, the traditional solidarity and special friendship have continued to be strengthened and strengthened; the two Parties and two countries have expanded and deepened the comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba on the path of building and defending the country, following the common ideal and interest of advancing to socialism.

The General Secretary and President once again affirmed the consistent stance of the Party, State and people of Vietnam on solidarity and support for the just struggle of the heroic Cuban people and resolutely requested the US government to implement the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly on immediately and unconditionally ending the blockade, embargo as well as other hostile policies and actions against Cuba.

The General Secretary and President firmly believes that the Cuban people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, will overcome all challenges, firmly protect the achievements of the revolution, and continue to gain even greater victories in their revolutionary cause, for the goal of building a prosperous and sustainable socialism./.

Source