Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Thao besides President Ho Chi Minh's status (Photo: VNA) 

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

Being inaugurated on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam (April 30, 1976) and having won a prize from the Hungarian Ministry of Culture a year later, the statue is the highly regarded work of Mr. Marton László (1925 -2008), one of Hungary's greatest sculptors of all time.

Speaking at the flower offering ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Nguyen Thi Bich Thao reminded listeners of the great career of President Ho Chi Minh, who sacrificed all his life for the independence of the Vietnamese people, and who embodies freedom, equality and patriotism.

Uncle Ho's monument, a masterpiece of high culture that the country and people of Hungary has dedicated to Vietnam, also reflects his simple and close quality, just like his person and affection.

The fact that the monument has been cared for and preserved by the government and people of Zalaegerszeg City and close friends of Vietnam during the past 47 years, overcoming all the harsh challenges of time and the times, the Ambassador highly appreciated it as a symbol of friendship and cohesion between Vietnam and Hungary, a good relationship and multifaceted cooperation that was upgraded to a comprehensive partnership five years ago.

Reviewing the visits of the two countries' senior leaders in recent years, the Vietnamese Ambassador expressed her belief that the Vietnam-Hungary relationship will grow stronger in all aspects of politics – diplomacy, economy-trade, culture, education, people-to-people exchanges, and promised to join the Hungarian friends in making every effort to contribute to promoting the relationship to be deeper and more effective.

For his part, Mr. Balaicz Zoltán, Mayor of Zalaegerszeg City, affirmed that the Ho Chi Minh monument in the city is a great work that has shown Uncle Ho's qualities as a patriot, father of the nation, leading the Vietnamese people in the fight for national independence.

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

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, along with many other friends of Vietnam, including the "veterans" of half a century ago who were members of the International Commission for Control and Supervision (ICCS) to oversee the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Vietnam.

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

The city of Zalaegerszeg, site of the first work in memory of President Ho Chi Minh since 1971, welcomed many delegations of female workers from Vietnam to work, and the statue of Uncle Ho is located here now is the only Ho Chi Minh monument in East Central-Europe./.

BTA