Singapore named a new orchid species Papilionanda To Lam Linh Ly after Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly at a ceremony at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Wednesday morning.

The ceremony, with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in attendance, was part of the Vietnamese Party leader’s visit to the city-state from Tuesday to Thursday.

The orchid naming ceremony is a diplomatic tradition reserved exclusively for distinguished foreign guests visiting Singapore.

PM Wong welcomed Party chief Lam and his spouse at the main entrance of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and invited them to the venue for the orchid naming ceremony.

After signing a scrapbook, Party General Secretary Lam and his spouse attached the nameplate to the orchid and toured the garden.

Party General Secretary Lam also gave a souvenir to the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens, established in 1859, is Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It received the recognition in July 2015. 

The garden houses tens of thousands of orchids, including some 1,200 natural species and more than 2,000 hybrid ones, making it the world's largest orchid showcase.

On the same day, Party General Secretary Lam, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation offered flowers in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore.

The delegation observed a minute of silence to commemorate the great contributions of President Ho Chi Minh.

To express good affection for Vietnam and honor one of the great foreign figures who once visited Singapore, the National Heritage Board of Singapore inaugurated a memorial plaque for President Ho Chi Minh at the Asian Civilisations Museum in May 2008, on the occasion of the 118th birthday of the president and the 35th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Singapore.

The National Heritage Board of Singapore, the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, and the Ho Chi Minh Museum later had an idea of placing a statue of President Ho Chi Minh next to the memorial plaque. In September 2011, the statue was inaugurated.

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