"Former President Tran Duc Luong left many marks in his career"

Upon the passing of formerPresident Tran Duc Luong, Dr. To Van Truong, former Director of the Southern Institute of Irrigation Planning, expressed his grief and sorrow.

Dr. To Van Truong is a person who has many memories with former President Tran Duc Luong.

Always get to the bottom of things

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter about his memories with former President Tran Duc Luong, Mr. Truong said that the first time he met the former President was in early 2000, at the invitation of Mr. Nguyen Canh Dinh, who was then Chief of the President's Office .

The meeting was related to a hot current issue: national water resources management and environmental protection - the field that Mr. To Van Truong is pursuing.

In the flood season of 2000, a historic flood occurred in the Mekong Delta. At that time, the State organized a field survey delegation led by former President Tran Duc Luong.

The 45km long Hong Ngu - Vinh Hung Canal runs through Dong Thap Muoi, located near the Cambodian border of Dong Thap and Long An provinces. Of which, the section through Dong Thap province is 24km long, the rest is in Long An province. This is considered the longest and largest canal dug by hand since 1977.

At that time, everyone on the boat was arguing quite heatedly about the flow of the Hong Ngu - Vinh Hung canal, some said it flowed in, others said it flowed out.

At that time, former President Tran Duc Luong continuously asked very specific and difficult questions about hydrology, topography and geology in the area.

Answering these questions, Mr. Truong presented in detail the content of hydraulic problems, local losses,... to the correlation between upstream flow, tidal impact and agricultural production.

"At that time, President Tran Duc Luong listened attentively, did not interrupt, and occasionally nodded and asked more questions. That way of working made me really admire him. Later, I realized that was President Tran Duc Luong's style, not noisy, but always getting to the bottom of the problem," said Dr. To Van Truong.

Knowing that Mr. Truong was an expert who had worked abroad for many years, President Tran Duc Luong expressed his interest and discussed with him major strategic issues, especially the use of water resources throughout the Mekong River basin in a harmonious manner, ensuring balanced interests among riparian countries.

The Head of State at that time also paid special attention to the environmental consequences of hydropower construction on the mainstream, especially for the fragile ecosystem of the downstream area, specifically the Mekong Delta - which faces many challenges from climate change and saltwater intrusion,...

According to Dr. To Van Truong, former President Tran Duc Luong once held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and then President during a time when the country was undergoing profound changes and he left his mark with stability and moderation.

Many officials who worked with him shared that former Chairman Tran Duc Luong highly valued professional knowledge and always encouraged listening to the opinions of scientists and technicians, something that not all leaders persistently pursue in actual management.

"Saying goodbye to former President Tran Duc Luong, I not only remember an exemplary politician, but also a calm, profound leader who always put intelligence and responsibility above reputation and form.

Former President Tran Duc Luong left many lasting impressions in policies and in the hearts of the people," Dr. To Van Truong said sadly.

President Tran Duc Luong, Dr. To Van Truong and members of the survey trip to the historic flood in 2000 in the Mekong Delta (Photo: Provided by the character).

As head of state, President Tran Duc Luong always worries about and devotes much effort to Vietnam's foreign affairs activities in promoting equal and mutually respectful international relations.

President Tran Duc Luong always emphasizes Vietnam's role in multilateral cooperation mechanisms, new-generation free trade agreements, as well as environmental commitments and climate change response that Vietnam has signed.

The power of national unity

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc, former Director of the Institute of Party History, shared that besides his great contributions to the country's administrative and socio-economic institutions, former President Tran Duc Luong also made great contributions to the field of geology and mineral resources.

"In current conditions, we see more and more the importance of natural resources in national development," said Mr. Phuc.

He said that former President Tran Duc Luong became a leader at the time when we began to innovate and made extremely important contributions when, together with leaders at the Central level, the Politburo,... he realized the innovation policy of the 6th Party Congress.

Former President Tran Duc Luong (Photo: Vietnamnet).

"In the development of innovation, the typical point that I see is that President Tran Duc Luong has made important contributions to building a rule-of-law state.

He has contributed to realizing the Party's viewpoints on building a socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam of the people, by the people, for the people, led by the Communist Party of Vietnam," said Mr. Phuc.

According to Mr. Phuc, former President Tran Duc Luong made many contributions to building and perfecting the legal system, using the law to manage and build the country.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc acknowledged that, as the head of state, former President Tran Duc Luong made great contributions to foreign policy, especially promoting Vietnam's international integration, participating in the globalization process, establishing relationships with developed countries in the world such as the US, China, etc.

"Former President Tran Duc Luong is a representative of the strength of national unity. He was especially interested in consolidating and strengthening national unity, the State's policies and laws towards ethnic groups, religions, and Vietnamese people residing abroad,...", Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc emphasized.

Former Politburo member and former President Tran Duc Luong was born in 1937, in Pho Khanh commune, Duc Pho district (now Duc Pho town), Quang Ngai province.

Due to old age and poor health, former President Tran Duc Luong passed away at 10:51 p.m. on May 20, at his home.

The state funeral of the former President will take place on May 24 and 25.

The coffin of former President Tran Duc Luong lies at the National Funeral Home, No. 5 Tran Thanh Tong, Hanoi.

The funeral will be held at the National Funeral Home, 5 Tran Thanh Tong, Hanoi, from 7:00 a.m. on May 24 to 7:00 a.m. on May 25.

The memorial service for former President Tran Duc Luong was solemnly held at 7:00 a.m. on May 25 at the National Funeral House; the burial ceremony was held at 3:00 p.m. the same day at his hometown cemetery, Pho Khanh commune, Duc Pho town, Quang Ngai province.

At the same time, at Thong Nhat Hall (HCMC) and at Hall T50, Quang Ngai Provincial Military Command, the funeral and memorial service for former President Tran Duc Luong also took place.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/nguyen-chu-tich-nuoc-tran-duc-luong-de-lai-nhieu-dau-an-trong-su-nghiep-20250523212323611.htm