President Ho Chi Minh arrived in Yerevan, Armenia, on July 21, 1959. (Photo: Armenian Embassy in Hanoi)

The valuable photo of President Ho Chi Minh was first introduced by the Armenian Embassy in Hanoi at the celebration of Armenia's Independence Day on September 21, 2023 in Hanoi and was sent exclusively to Radio the Voice of Vietnam on September 25.

According to information from Armenian Ambassador to Vietnam Vahram Kazhoyan, the photo was taken on July 21, 1959, when the plane carrying President Ho Chi Minh had just landed in the Armenian capital Yerevan. Ambassador Kazhoyan said that this is the Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft of the Soviet national airline Aeroflot, with the number СССР-Л1895.

In the photo, President Ho Chi Minh is wearing a white khaki suit. The figure standing to the left of Uncle Ho is Mr. Shmavon Arushanyan - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. And the person standing on Uncle Ho's right is Mr. Suren Tovmasyan - First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party of Armenia. Mr. Tovmasyan later became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Soviet Union to Vietnam from 1961-1964.

In 1959, President Ho Chi Minh visited a series of republics of the Soviet Union. He visited Armenia from July 21-23, 1959. The visit opened a new chapter in the relationship between Armenia and Vietnam.

Armenian Ambassador Kazhoyan is very dedicated to collecting rare photos of Uncle Ho when he visited Armenia and are currently stored in Armenia's archives. In 2020, he also introduced to readers of Radio the Voice of Vietnam six photos of President Ho Chi Minh's visit to Armenia. Personally, Mr. Kazhoyan has always been fond of President Ho Chi Minh's saying: "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom!"

Ambassador Kazhoyan said that Vietnam-Armenia relations have a history of 800 years, as Armenian merchants visited the Gulf of Tonkin in the period from the 12th to 17th centuries. According to Mr. Kazhoyan, Armenians at that period established trading posts, a school and an Armenian church in Northern Vietnam.

Since the early 1950s, there have been about 2,000 Vietnamese students studying at universities in Armenia.

After Armenia declared its independence in 1991, Vietnam and Armenia established diplomatic relations in July 1992. Armenia opened its embassy in Hanoi in November 2013, contributing to promoting bilateral relations in many fields.

Ambassador Kazhoyan shared that Vietnam has now become a favorite destination for Armenian tourists. Armenia imports items from Vietnam such as rice, spices, fruits, electronic devices, textiles and especially coffee - the favorite drink of the Armenian people. For its part, Armenia has a number of advantageous products that can be exported to Vietnam such as wine, fruits, meat, dairy products and information and communications technology./.

BTA