An exhibition on Ho Chi Minh was opened in Paris, France, on November 13, highlighting the late President of Vietnam as a great man of peace and culture.

Visitors to the Paris exhibition on Ho Chi Minh

The permanent delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO and the Vietnamese Embassy in France co-organised the event to mark 30 years since UNESCO ratified a resolution on the 100th birth anniversary of Ho Chi Minh.

Opening the exhibition, Ambassador Tran Thi Hoang Mai, head of Vietnam’s permanent delegation to UNESCO, noted in 1987, the 24th General Assembly of UNECO adopted Resolution 18.65, which recognised that “President Ho Chi Minh, an outstanding symbol of national affirmation, devoted his whole life to the national liberation of the Vietnamese people, contributing to the common struggle of peoples for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress.”

Mai said the late leader, born in 1890, left priceless spiritual heritage for the Vietnamese people which is his ideology that not only mentions fundamental issues of Vietnam’s revolution but also points out the role of education and culture in peace and development.

[Photo exhibition, seminar on President Ho Chi Minh held in Bulgaria]

The UNESCO resolution highlighted that the important and many-sided contribution of Ho Chi Minh in the fields of culture, education and the arts crystalizes the cultural tradition of the Vietnamese people which stretches back several thousand years, and that his ideals embody the aspirations of peoples in the affirmation of their cultural identity and the promotion of mutual understanding.

The diplomat said in education, Ho Chi Minh consistently supported education for all people and life-long learning. He also believed in the strength of culture in building the nation and dialogue between cultures and that international solidarity is the best weapon to achieve peace.

In her speech, UNESCO General-Director Irina Bokova expressed her respect for President Ho Chi Minh, adding that with the pride of its history, Vietnam will continue to develop in the future.-VNA