VietNamNet Bridge - Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Litareture), Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and charity facilities are all sites visited by international leaders such as US President Bill Clinton, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of their visits to Vietnam.
In November 2000, US President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam for the
first time after the Vietnam - US normalized relations in 1995. He was
the first US president to Vietnam 25 years after end of the Vietnam War.
In addition to meetings with senior leaders of Vietnam, Clinton and his
wife and daughter visited the first university of Vietnam - Van Mieu -
Quoc Tu Giam. A memorable moment was recorded when the former US
president shook hands with some Hanoians from the balcony of a building
opposite the Temple of Literature on November 17th 2000.
The same
day, Clinton visited the Hanoi National University and had a talk with
the students here. He returned to Vietnam in December 2006 and July 2014
as the President of the Bill Clinton Foundation. Former President
Clinton decided to normalize relations with Vietnam in 1995 and signed a
bilateral trade. He said the normalization of Vietnam-US bilateral
relations was the proudest achievement in his term.
Former US
First Lady Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea wore conical hats while
visiting a charity facility of the Vietnam Women's Union and Oxfam in
Yen Tang village, Bac Phu commune, Soc Son district, Hanoi on November
17th 2000.
On November 19th 2006 morning, US President George
Bush and his wife went to the Cua Bac Church in Hanoi for prayer. This
was the sideline activity in his official visit to Vietnam to attend the
APEC Summit 14. The trip to Vietnam from November 17 to 20, 2006 was
the longest overseas bilateral visit made by Bush since he took office.
It was also the second official visit of a US president to Vietnam after
the visit of President Clinton in 2000.
Russian President
Vladimir Putin beat the drum in the Temple of Literature on the first
visit to Vietnam in March 2001. He returned to Vietnam twice in 2006 to
attend the 14th APEC Summit and in November 2013 at the invitation of
President Truong Tan Sang.
Back to Vietnam on the third time on
November 12th 2013, President Putin laid a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum and visited President Ho Chi Minh.
In November 2009,
the first time French Prime Minister Francois Fillon visited Vietnam
since the two countries established diplomatic relations. The French
Prime Minister visited the ancient capital of Hue.
The Temple of
Literature was also the place where the most powerful woman in the world
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel – visited during a visit to Vietnam
in October 2011.
Coming to Vietnam the second time in September
2013, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (pink shirt) and his
wife were present at Ly Thai To flower garden in Hanoi. He talked with
Singaporeans who were living and working in Vietnam.
During the
two-day visit to Vietnam (July 29-30, 2015), British Prime Minister
David Cameron visited Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, HCM City.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping laid a wreath and paid homage to Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum during his visit to Vietnam on October 5-6, 2015.
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Thanh Van