Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Kiren Rijiju shared that this visit to Vietnam is special because this is the first time that Buddha's relics have been brought to be enshrined in some provinces and cities of Vietnam, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Vietnam's independence and reunification and the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Day of Vesak held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Kiren Rijiju expressed his appreciation to the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam-India Friendship Association, the Vietnamese people have a special affection for the leader Mahatma Gandhi, as well as for the people of India. The special foundation for the relationship between India and Vietnam is the common ideal values ​​of leader Mahatma Gandhi and President Ho Chi Minh. The special relationship between India and Vietnam and the invitation of Buddha's relics from India to Vietnam is the clearest proof.

Dr. Huynh Thanh Lap, Chairman of the Vietnam - India Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City, said that in 2022 - 2023, the people of Vietnam and India were delighted to witness important friendship events, namely the installation of a statue of President Ho Chi Minh in the center of New Delhi and a statue of leader Mahatma Gandhi in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Leader Mahatma Gandhi and President Ho Chi Minh spent their entire lives accompanying the oppressed people and were both affectionately called by the people as "Father of the Nation".

According to Dr. Huynh Thanh Lap, the inauguration of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Ho Chi Minh City and the inauguration of the statue of President Ho Chi Minh in New Delhi are meaningful events, demonstrating the long-standing friendship and tradition between Vietnam and India. The presence of the statues of Ho Chi Minh and Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City not only honors the great heroes of the two countries, but is also a symbol of national culture, a vivid demonstration of the good friendship between the two countries that has been carefully cultivated by generations of leaders and people of Vietnam and India.

At the ceremony, Dr. Huynh Thanh Lap presented Mr. Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary and Minority Affairs of the Republic of India and Mr. Sandeep Arya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Vietnam, a traditional scarf printed with the symbol of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/vun-dap-tinh-huu-nghi-nhan-dan-hai-nuoc-viet-nam-an-do-20250502225647448.htm