Havana (VNA) – Cuba andFidel are two sacred words in the heart of every Vietnamese, said Nguyen DucLoi, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and headof the Vietnamese delegation to the 24th Sao Paulo Forum in Havana,Cuba.

Addressing the special plenary sessionof the forum on July 17, Loi, who is also General Director of the Vietnam NewsAgency (VNA), underlined that Fidel is a great leader of internationalcommunist and worker movements, and a symbol of revolutionary heroism, andaspirations for freedom and happiness.

He highlighted that humanitarianinternationalism initiated and led by Fidel had materially and spirituallysupported many revolutions and movements for national liberation worldwide,including Vietnamese people’s resistance war against the US.

The official recalled Cuba’ssupport to Vietnam in the past even when the Caribbean country was facing numerousdifficulties as a result of the embargo imposed by the US, quoting Cubanrevolutionary leader Fidel Castro’s saying that “For Vietnam, Cuba is willingto shed its blood.”

He also recollected Fidel’shistoric visit to Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri in September 1973,the first trip by a foreign leader to a liberated area in Vietnam. During thetrip, the Cuban Commander-in-Chief hoisted the Vietnamese liberation flag ontop of a bunker formerly belonging to the enemy troops, and then urged theVietnamese soldiers to “put up this glorious flag in the centre of Saigon.” Hiswish came true two years later.

On this occasion,Loi congratulated the Mexican leftist force on the triumph of Andres ManuelLopez Obrador at the recent presidential election, and expressed his supportfor the revolutionary cause and social progress in a number of Latin American countries. 

The official noted his wish thatunder the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban people willsuccessfully update the socio-economic model, and complete development targetsset through 2030.

During the plenary session, otherleaders and politicians of Latin American, Caribbean, Asian and Africancountries also delivered speeches reiterating the universal and everlastingvalues of the ideology and model of Fidel.

At the July 15-17 forum, manyLatin American and Caribbean leaders committed to reinforcing solidaritybetween leftist forces in the region and the world.

625 delegates from 51 countriesand 168 organisations across the world have adopted 45 resolution andstatements on socio-political issues in the region.

Created in 1990 as a result of the PermanentConference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, the SaoPaulo Forum is a space for dialogue, which attracts about 100 politicalparties, organisations and progressive movements in the region.-VNA