Vietnamese embassies abroad held tribute-paying ceremonies and opened condolence books for former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Do Muoi.

Large numbers of foreign officials, diplomats, friends and overseas Vietnamese around the world paid tribute to former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Do Muoi at Vietnamese Embassies around the world. 

Do Muoi, who passed away in Hanoi on October 1 at the age of 101, served as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee from June 1991 to December 1997.

 Vietnam holds a State funeral and two days of national mourning for him on October 6 and 7.

In Chile, after the Vietnamese Embassy opened a condolence book on October 5 (local time), a representative from the Chilean foreign minister Juan Carlos Barrientos and President of the Chile-Vietnam Cultural Institute Ángela Margarita Jeria Gómez were among the guests who came to pay last respects to the deceased Vietnamese party leader. 

Ambassadors and diplomats from the embassies of Russia, Cuba, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, El Salvador, Brazil, Venezuela and Turkey also paid tribute and wrote in the funeral book. 

At the tribute ceremony held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the Czech Republic, the embassy staff were joined by representatives from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Morava, ambassadors and diplomats of ASEAN countries, Japan, Russia, the Palestine, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Algeria,  Libya, Ghana, and Vietnamese associations in Europe and the Czech Republic. 

A representative from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Morava wrote in the funeral book: “On behalf of the leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Morava and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies Vojtech Filip, we offer deepest condolences to the Vietnamese people over the loss of a great son, a great politician who is also a friend of the Czech Republic.” 

Similar events were held and funeral books opened at the Vietnamese Embassies in Germany, Belgium, Ukraine, Myanmar and Israel on October 4 and 5. Most funeral books will remain open through October 6.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia organised a tribute-paying ceremony for former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) Do Muoi on October 4-5. 

Writing in the funeral book, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh lauded the former leader for his contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. 

Minh wrote that in his capacity as the General Secretary of the CPVCC, comrade Do Muoi made historic and strategic directions in external relations such as normalising ties with China and the US, signing the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation with the European Union, joining ASEAN and launching negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US. 

At the ceremony, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace Kong Sam Ol conveyed a letter of condolences from King Norodom Sihamoni to General Secretary of the CPVCC Nguyen Phu Trong. 

Sim Ka, a member of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Central Committee’s Standing Board expressed his profound condolences to the Vietnamese Party, government and people and family of comrade Do Muoi and wished that he will rest in peace. 

The ambassadors of Laos, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Myanmar, India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and representatives from embassies and international organisations in Phnom Penh also came to pay their last respects to the former Party leader. 

On October 5, the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia, the Vietnamese Consulate Generals in Sydney and Perth also held respect-paying ceremonies and opened funeral books for the former Party chief. 

Representatives of the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, diplomatic corps, embassies of Laos, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Venezuela also paid tribute to comrade Do Muoi.

Lao Ambassador to Australia Sisavath Inphachanh wrote that the former General Secretary was a great leader who made great contributions to national liberation and development, as well as ties between the two Parties and special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam. 

A similar ceremony was also held in Myanmar on October 5.

Foreign leaders extend sympathy over former Party chief’s passing

Foreign leaders have extended messages of condolences to their Vietnamese counterparts over the passing of former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) Do Muoi. 

In a letter sent to CPVCC General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro said he was saddened when learning about the death of the former Party chief. 

As a close friend of Cuba, comrade Do Muoi had contributed to consolidating the fraternity between the two countries, he said. 

Raul Castro extended the deepest sympathy to Party General Secretary Trong and former Party General Secretary Do Muoi’s family. 

President of Cuba’s Council of State and Council of Ministers Miguel Diaz Canel also cabled condolence messages to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh. 

The government and people of Cuba always keep in mind comrade Do Muoi’s contributions to the development of the long-standing friendship and fraternity between the two countries, he said. 

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi expressed her sympathy to PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc while President Win Myint extended condolences to Acting President Thinh. 

They highly valued former Party General Secretary Do Muoi’s outstanding leadership and great contributions to advancing political, economic and social position of Vietnam in regional and international arena. 

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai sent messages of sympathy to PM Phuc and Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. 

The Thai leaders praised the Vietnamese former Party chief’s great contributions to Vietnam’s Doi Moi (Reform) process, and laying a firm foundation for the strategic partnership between the two countries. 

Other condolence messages came from Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, and President of Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance and Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan Toshihiro Nikai to PM Phuc and President of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group and head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Pham Minh Chinh. 

Deputy PM and FM Minh also got a message from Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro. 

In their letters, the Japanese leaders praised former General Secretary Do Muoi as a talented leader who significantly contributed to national development and paid due attention to promoting the Vietnam-Japan relationship. 

In a message to Party General Secretary Trong, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in hailed former Party General Secretary Do Muoi for his great contributions to the relations between Vietnam and the RoK, especially the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic ties.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Cao Tran Quoc Hai writes in the condolence book Guests pay tribute to former CPV General Secretary Do Muoi at the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine  Lao Ambassador to Australia Sisavath Inphachanh pays tribute to the deceased leader and writes in funeral book at the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace Samdech Kong Sam Ol lit incense in memory of the deceased Vietnamese Party leader at the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia The tribute-paying ceremony at the Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea The Cuban Ambassador to Thailand writes in the funeral book opened by the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand Staff of the Vietnam's Permanent Mission to the United Nations pay tribute to Party leader Do Muoi The US Ambassador to Myanmar writes in the funeral book

VNA