The ceremony to pay tribute to late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar on March 20 (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar) Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese embassies in manycountries held ceremonies on March 20 to pay respect to former Politburo memberand former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, who passed away on March 17 at the ageof 85.
At the event in Beijing, Vietnamese Ambassadorto China Dang Minh Khoi emphasised the former PM’s significant contributions tothe reform of Vietnam and his dedication as a faithful communist who strivedfor national independence, socialism and people’s happiness.
The diplomat said while serving as the PM ofVietnam from 1997 to 2006, Khai greatly contributed to the friendlyneighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and China. Hemade many official visits to China and met with leaders of the Communist Partyof China and the State and Government of China.
During this period, aside from the fast progressin bilateral cooperation in economy-trade, culture-education andpeople-to-people ties, the two countries also attained a number of importantoutcomes in solving outstanding problems, especially land- and sea-relatedborder issues.
They signed the land border treaty on December30, 1999, and the agreement on the Tonkin Gulf demarcation and the agreement onfishery cooperation in the Tonkin Gulf on December 25, 2000, creating a solidlegal foundation for border and territory management and helping to build aVietnam-China border of peace, friendship and long-term stability, Khoi added.
Also on March 20 morning, a similar ceremony washeld at the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia. After reviewing former PM Khai’senormous contributions, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Quy Quynh, the embassy staffand many Vietnamese people in Malaysia paid homage to the deceased.
💯[Infographics: Former PM Phan Van Khai dies, aged 85]
Many foreign delegations in Malaysia also paidtribute to the late leader, including the ambassadors of Cambodia, Namibia,Gambia, Venezuela, Timor Leste, and Turkey.
In her speech at the ceremony at the VietnameseEmbassy in Myanmar, Vietnamese Ambassador Luan Thuy Duong highlighted that thenPM Khai was resolved to gear regulations towards bringing into play thecapability of all economic sectors, especially the private sector, whilepromoting the country’s integration into the world.
She stressed that the death of the formerGovernment leader is a great loss to the Communist Party of Vietnam and theState and people of Vietnam.
Representatives of the Lao, Indonesian, US andCzech embassies and Vietnamese businesses and people in Myanmar also came tothe ceremony to pay tribute to former PM Khai.
Respect paying ceremonies were also opened bythe Vietnamese embassies in Thailand and Indonesia in the morning of March 20.
The events will last through March 21, the sametime with the two-day State funeral for the deceased in Vietnam.-VNA
VNA
