Vietnamese children in Hungary commemorate Uncle Ho's birthday

The Ho Chi Minh Monument in Zalaegerszeg city is a wonderful work that demonstrates Uncle Ho's qualities, leading the Vietnamese people in the fight for national independence.

Community members and Hungarian guests took a souvenir photo next to Uncle Ho's statue. (Photo: Hoang Linh/Vietnam+)

On May 6, the Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary, along with representatives of Associations, Unions and hundreds of Vietnamese people in Hungary, attended the flower offering ceremony to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh on the occasion of his 133rd birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2023).

The event was held next to the statue of President Ho Chi Minh in the city of Zalaegerszeg, about 240km west of the capital Budapest.

Inaugurated on the first anniversary of Vietnam's reunification (April 30, 1976) and winning an award from the Hungarian Ministry of Culture a year later, the statue is a highly regarded work by Marton László (1925-2008), one of Hungary's greatest sculptors of all time.

At the ceremony, on the Vietnamese side, there was the presence of Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Thao and all officers and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary, along with representatives of the Vietnamese Association and a large number of Vietnamese people in Hungary.

Mayor of Zalaegerszeg, Mr. Balaicz Zoltán, Vice President of the Hungary-Vietnam Friendship Association, Mr. Váraljai Márton and many Hungarian friends of Vietnam were also present at this event.

Speaking at the flower offering ceremony, Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Thao recalled the great career of President Ho Chi Minh, who sacrificed his whole life for the independence of the Vietnamese people, and was the embodiment of freedom, equality and patriotism.

Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Thao next to Uncle Ho's statue. (Photo: Hoang Linh/Vietnam+)

The statue of Uncle Ho - a masterpiece of high cultural value that the country and people of Hungary have given to Vietnam - also reflects the simple and close qualities, true to his personality and feelings.

The fact that the monument has been cared for and preserved by the government and people of Zalaegerszeg City and close friends of Vietnam for the past 47 years, overcoming all the harsh challenges of time and circumstances, is considered by the Ambassador to be a symbol of friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Hungary, a good relationship and multifaceted cooperation that has been upgraded to a comprehensive partnership for the past 5 years.

Reviewing the visits of senior leaders of the two countries in recent years, Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Thao expressed her belief that the Vietnam-Hungary relationship will develop more and more strongly in all aspects of politics -diplomacy, economy-trade, culture, education, people-to-people exchange, etc., and promised to work with Hungarian friends to contribute to promoting the relationship to become deeper and more effective.

In his response, Mr. Balaicz Zoltán - Mayor of Zalaegerszeg city - affirmed that the Ho Chi Minh monument in the city is a wonderful work that demonstrates Uncle Ho's qualities as a patriot, father of the nation, leading the Vietnamese people in the fight for national independence.

Mayor of Zalaegerszeg city speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: Hoang Linh/Vietnam+)

According to Mr. Zoltán, the friendship between the two countries in the past has now developed into good relations in all fields.

Also present at the ceremony were Mr. Balogh Miklós, a former Hungarian Socialist Party politician, former Member of Parliament and City Council member, who has been taking care of the Ho Chi Minh monument since 2005, and many other friends of Vietnam, including “veterans” who half a century ago were members of the International Control and Supervision Commission (ICCS) overseeing the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Vietnam.

For them, Vietnam is a part of their lives and memories, and their loyal feelings towards Vietnam are emotions that have stood the test of time.

The city of Zalaegerszeg, where the first sculpture commemorating President Ho Chi Minh was created in 1971, welcomed many female workers from Vietnam to work in the 1970s, and the statue of Uncle Ho located here is currently the only Ho Chi Minh monument in the Central-Eastern Europe region./.

Hoang Linh (Vietnam+)