Hanoi (VNA) – Many foreign leaders, officials and international friends haveshared in the grief of the Vietnamese people over the passing of President TranDai Quang, and expressed their respect for the Vietnamese leader. 

During the Statefuneral for President Tran Dai Quang on September 26, more than 1,000 domesticand international delegations paid tribute to the President in Hanoi, Ho ChiMinh City and his home province of Ninh Binh. Among them there wererepresentatives from many foreign parties, States and Governments, along withambassadors, charge d’affaires and representatives of internationalorganisations in Vietnam.

Politburo memberand Vice President of Laos Phankham Viphavanh led a high-level delegation fromLaos to the funeral, while the Cambodian delegation was led by Prime MinisterSamdech Hun Sen. The Chinese delegation was headed by Politburo member andmember of the Politburo Standing Committee of China Zhao Leji, the Cuban delegation was led by Politburo member andVice President of the Council of Minister and the Council of State RobertoMorales Ojeda, and the Russian delegation was led by Deputy Chairwoman of theState Duma of Russia Epifanova Olga Nikolaevna. 

Chairmanof the Council of the Republic of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich wrote in the funeral guestbook that President Quang will be in the heart of Belarusian people forever. Heacknowledged the great contribution that the President had made to developingthe bilateral cooperation between Belarus and Vietnam.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP ResidentRepresentative in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra stressed that President Quang had stronglybacked multilateralism, and worked to enhance Vietnam’s role in peacekeepingoperations and the UN 2030 Agenda.

Writingin the book of condolences, Chief Representative of the UNESCO Office inVietnam MichaelCroft said President Quang had persistently backed the popularisation ofVietnamese culture to the world.

Under his leadership and support,the ties between UNESCO and Vietnam have borne fruits, he wrote.

Affirming the President as agreat friend of the US, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J.Kritenbrink said hisreception for President Donald Trump during the latter’s State visit to Vietnamin November 2017 had helped elevate the US-Vietnam comprehensive partnership toa new height.

Indian Ambassador to VietnamParvathaneni Harish also wrote in the funeral book that the President’s death isa huge loss to not only Vietnamese Government and people but also IndianGovernment and people.

The President’scontributions to consolidating the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategicpartnership will be remembered forever, he said.

Earlier, after learningabout the Vietnamese leader’s passing on September 21, leaders of manycountries and organisations cabled messages of sympathy to the VietnameseParty, State, Government and people as well as the President’s family.

Many messages emphasised therole of President Quang in Vietnam’s external affairs, helping advance thecountry’s position and prestige in the international arena.

In the condolence letter,the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee, National Assembly,Government, the Lao Front for National Construction Central Committee praised PresidentQuang for his contributions to Vietnam’s national construction, defence anddevelopment, especially to ensuring security and social order and safety.

Comrade Tran Dai Quang is aleader who had significantly contributed to developing the great friendship,special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos overthe past time, the letter read.

Not only the Vietnamese Party,State and people lose a beloved leader but the Party, State and people of Laosalso lose a close friend, they said.

President of Cuba’s Councilof State and Council of Ministers Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez wrote in hisletter of condolence to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc that the passing ofPresident Tran Dai Quang is a great loss to not only Vietnam but also the CubanGovernment and people.

The Vietnamese President is a“big friend” of Cuba who had helped to boost the two countries’ time-honouredrelations, he affirmed.

General Secretary of the CommunistParty of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinpingextended condolences to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He wrote:“Comrade Tran Dai Quang was an outstanding leader of the Party and State ofVietnam, who had made great contributions to the development, renovation andopening-up of Vietnam”.

As a comrade and close friendof the Chinese people, Quang committed himself to inheriting and carryingforward the China-Vietnam traditional friendship and actively promoted thecomprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries,Xi noted.

Recalling President Quang’scontributions to the Russia-Vietnam relations, Russian President Vladimir Putinwrote in his letter of condolences that President Tran Dai Quang, as the headof State as well as in many other positions, had won the respect of theVietnamese people and trust of international friends.

President Tran Dai Quang hadfulfilled his task of strengthening national security and protecting the interestsof Vietnam around the globe, he added.

The Russian leader praisedthe contributions made by the Vietnamese President to strengthening theComprehensive Partnership between Vietnam and Russia, as well as the bilateralcooperation for mutual benefits in many areas.

In his letter of condolences,Indonesian President Joko Widodo also extended his deepest condolences to theVietnamese Government and people over the death of President Quang.

He affirmed that Indonesiaalways shares and stays side by side with the Vietnamese people in thedifficult time.

Meanwhile, Sultan of BruneiHaji Hassanal Bolkiah recalled his memories with the late President during hisvisit to Vietnam to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017 in Da Nang lastNovember and the Vietnamese leader’s State visit to Brunei in 2016.

He expressed his belief thatPresident Quang’s contributions will be always remembered by the Vietnamesepeople.

In their letters ofcondolences to Vietnamese leaders, Singaporean leaders all praised PresidentTran Dai Quang’s contributions to Vietnam’s national development and toincreasing its position in the region and the world.

They affirmed that thePresident is a close friend of Singapore who had great contributions todeepening the Singapore-Vietnam Strategic Partnership.

In his message, JapanesePrime Minister Shinzo Abe said President Quang greatly contributed to buildingclose cooperation in various spheres of the Japan-Vietnam strategic partnership.

President of the Republic ofKorea Moon Jae-in also condoled with the Vietnamese Party, State and people,and the family of President Quang. He spoke highly of the President’s greatcontributions to developing the bilateral ties.

He vowed to do his utmost tofurther deepen the RoK-Vietnam Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

Lao and Cuba announced twodays of national mourning for the Vietnamese leader, while Thailand orderedthat flags be flown at half-mast during three days to commemorate theVietnamese President.-VNA