For Vietnam, Fidel Castro is a great friend, a loyal comrade; for Quang Tri, those pages of history were written following the footsteps of the leader himself, several participants stressed at the national commemoration for his 100th birthday on August 13, 1926, in the park that bears his name in the Dong Ha district.

At the ceremony, during which a floral offering was placed and a minute of silence was observed in his honor, the revolutionary was remembered as the only foreign head of State to visit the liberated zone of what was then South Vietnam in 1973.

Through that gesture, considered a political act of great historical significance, Fidel Castro witnessed firsthand the horrors of war after visiting Hien Luong Bridge, Doc Mieu, Dong Ha, Cam Lo, the Provisional Revolutionary Government’s headquarters of the Republic of South Vietnam, and Tan Lam hill.

Speaking about the new stage of development in the province, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Duc Tien expressed interest in further deepening cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths and needs.

After noting that there was no better place than the park built in his memory to celebrate his 100th birthday, Cuban Ambassador to this nation, Rogelio Polanco, thanked the generosity of the Vietnamese people, who throughout all these years and across generations, have preserved the memory and admired with unwavering loyalty the life and work of Fidel Castro.

jdt/iff/jha/ro