This year’s festival is jointly organised by the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) and the All India Peace and Solidarity Organization (AIPSO).
Attending the ceremony, on the Indian side, participants were Mayor of Chandigarh city Asha Kumari Jaswal; AIPSO Secretary General, Politburo member and Head of the International Department of the Communist Party of India Pallab Sengupta. On the Vietnamese side, there were Bui Khac Son, VUFO Vice President; Ha Minh Hue, Vice President of Viet Nam - India Friendship Association, members of VUFO, Viet Nam – India Friendship Association, and representatives of Vietnamese enterprises as well as artists and performers of the Viet Nam Military Music and Dance Theatre.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mayor of Chandigarh city Asha Kumari Jaswal expressed her delight when Chandigarh was chosen to host the festival, hoping that more exchanges between the two countries’ people will be organized in the coming time.
On behalf of Vietnamese delegation, VUFO Vice President Bui Khac Son, leading of the delegation, appreciated the warm welcome of the AIPSO and many Indian friends.
He highlighted the Viet Nam - India relationship, which was founded by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and fostered by generations of Vietnamese leaders and people, adding that the Party, State and people of Viet Nam always keep in mind the precious support the communist parties and people of India for Viet Nam during the past struggle for national liberation and the current cause of national construction and development.
The ninth Viet Nam - India People’s Friendship Festival is a very meaningful activity in the two peoples’ friendship. The event is taking place in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the first year since the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership, India’s 70th Independence Day (August 15th, 1947 – 2017) and Viet Nam’s 72nd National Day (September 2nd, 1945 –2017), Son said.
The event also offered a chance for both sides to recall the tradition of solidarity, cooperation and mutual support, and discussed measures to effectively intensify the bilateral relations.
He hoped the delegates would take the opportunity to review the solidarity, friendship and mutual support between Vietnamese and Indian peoples and propose measures to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership in a more practical manner.
At the opening ceremony, Vietnamese and Indian artists entertained the delegates with a series of performances praising the two countries and their friendship.
On the afternoon of the same day, the Vietnamese People's Delegation attended the opening of a photo exhibition on Viet Nam's socio-economic and cultural development in Chandigarh. Vice Chairman VUFO Bui Khac Son believes after the photo exhibition delegates will see some parts of the country and will visit Viet Nam in the near future to discover more about Viet Nam – a beautiful and hospitable country.
The Vietnamese delegation also met Mr. Sh. Sukhpal Singh Khehra, the politician of Pujab, Chandigarh and attended the Viet Nam - India business forum in Chandigarh.
HA
