The inauguration of a statue of late Vietnamese State President Ho Chi Minh has been conducted solemnly in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg with the attendance of Nguyen Van Nen, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.

A high-level delegation of Ho Chi Minh City led by Nen, who is also a Poliburo member, arrived in Saint Petersburg on Friday to attend the statue inauguration ceremony, on behalf of the Party, state, and people of Vietnam, as well as of the city’s Party, government, and people in particular, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s website.

Participating in the ceremony were Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Andrey Yatskin, leaders of the Committee for External Relations of Saint Petersburg, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi, among other officials.

The event also attracted a large number of Russians and thousands of Vietnamese who are living and working in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

The three-meter-tall bronze statue of President Ho Chi Minh is placed on a 1.5-meter-high pedestal in a beautiful flower garden at the intersection of Ho Chi Minh Street and Prosvescheniya Avenue in Vyborgsky District of Saint Petersburg.

The statue erection was aimed at marking the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s first arrival (June 30, 1923) in Petrograd, now St. Petersburg, in northern Russia.

Addressing the ceremony, Governor Beglov said the statue inauguration was a manifestation of the profound respect and remembrance for late President Ho Chi Minh, one of the greatest figures representing a bright example of patriotism and national heroism.

“I firmly believe that this work will become a new symbol of the Vietnam-Russia friendship,” the governor stated.

Ho Chi Minh City Party leader Nen expressed his sincere thanks to the government of Russia and the administration of Saint Petersburg for their respect and love for late President Ho Chi Minh, the great leader of the Vietnamese nation.

The erection of the statue is of profound political and humanistic significance as President Ho Chi Minh was the national liberation hero and one of the world’s cultural celebrities honored by UNESCO, Nen commented.

Nen also extended thanks to all organizations and individuals involved in the creation of the statue, which he said will serve as a new friendship symbol between the two countries and will become an attractive venue for Russians, Vietnamese visitors, and international travelers.

“The statue’s inauguration reminds us to further contribute to promoting the connection and relationship between the two nations and between Ho Chi Minh City and Saint Petersburg in particular,” Nen told the ceremony.

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