In his opening remarks, Secretary of Welfare and Social Equality of Mexico City Pablo Yanez said the restoration preserves a work of historical and artistic value and represents a profound expression of the Mexican people’s respect for a towering leader who devoted his life to freedom, national independence and people’s happiness.
For generations of Mexicans, President Ho Chi Minh has been not only the leader of the heroic Vietnamese people but a global symbol of courage, resilience and the aspiration for justice. His statue stands in a park named Freedom for the Peoples is entirely fitting, because his life and ideology embodied freedom, human dignity and international solidarity, he said.
Fernando González Saiffe, Director-General for Asia-Pacific Affairs at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called Mexico-Viet Nam ties one of the most sincere and substantive models of cooperation between Latin America and Southeast Asia.
He said Mexicans hold special admiration for the Vietnamese people’s resilient struggle under President Ho Chi Minh’s leadership. The statue will remain a place where younger Mexican generations can learn about the history of Viet Nam - a nation that loves peace and never bows to oppression.
Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Van Hai, in his speech, said the restoration stands as a vivid proof of the close bonds and special affection that the Mexican Government and people hold for Viet Nam.
For more than half a century, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Viet Nam and Mexico have been growing on the basis of political trust, mutual respect and shared values of independence, peace, freedom, development and justice, Hai said.
On the occasion, Hai expressed profound gratitude to Mexico City authorities, relevant agencies, and close Mexican friends for their invaluable support that enabled the project’s completion on time for the 136th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19).
He also thanked sculptor Pedro Ramírez Ponzanelli, who vividly and emotionally captured the beloved Vietnamese leader, and pushed to finish the work by May 19 so it could be unveiled to the public on this important occasion.
