Fidel Park inaugurated in central Quang Tri Province

The inauguration ceremony of Fidel Park on Saturday in Quang Tri Province - VNA/VNS Photo

Attending the ceremony were First Vice President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of Cuba Salvador Valdés Mesa; Politburo member and permanent member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC)’s Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong; Politburo member, member of the CPVCC’s Secretariat and head of the CPVCC’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Trương Thị Mai, who is also President of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association; and Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha, who is co-chair of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee.

Speaking at the event, Trương Thị Mai said that the inauguration of the park on this occasion was of significance, demonstrating the love of the people in Quang Tri in particular and Vietnam in general for Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

The brotherhood between Vietnam and Cuba would last forever, she stressed. After the ceremony, the Vietnamese and Cuban delegates planted trees in the park.

Fidel Park covers six hectares in Dong Ha City with an investment of over VND137 billion (US$5.86 million).

Addressing a grand meeting in Quang Tri on September 14 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s visit, Tran Quoc Vuong stated that Fidel’s trip to the liberated zone brought the solidarity and valuable support of the Cuban people to Vietnam.

His presence in the zone amidst dangers and hardships was a great source of encouragement to southern residents and soldiers, as well as the Vietnamese people during the anti-US resistance war, he added.

Fidel made three visits to Vietnam in September 1973, December 1995 and February 2003.

He was the first foreign leader to visit the newly-liberated area in the south of Vietnam during the anti-US resistance war.

He was also a national leader who took the initiative in international movements to support Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and reunification, along with its process of national development and defence.

With all his great contributions, the Cuban leader was presented with the two noblest orders of the Vietnamese State: the Gold Star Order in 1982 and the Ho Chi Minh Order in 1989.