The event was attended by Chairwoman of Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Lao Vice President Phankham Viphavan, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Manh Hung, Lao Minister of National Defence Chansamone Chanyalath, and the Mayor of Vientiane Sinlavong Khutphaythun.
The photo exhibition is a very important activity marking 55th anniversary of the West Truong Son Trail (1961-2016), a part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that significantly contributed to the Great Spring Victory of 1975, which liberated the South and reunified the country.
The exhibition features nearly 100 photos that vividly reflect the hardships faced and fierce struggles waged by the soldiers and peoples of Vietnam and Laos, under the leadership of theLabour Party of Vietnam (now the Communist Party of Vietnam) and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. Notably, a detailed map of the Ho Chi Minh–West Truong Son Trail produced by numerous veterans was also displayed for the first time.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Minister Chansamone emphasised that many soldiers and people of Laos and Vietnam sacrificed their lives on the trail for the two countries’ independence and freedom during the war period.
He added that the exhibition would help the people, officials and soldiers of the two countries to learn more about their glorious revolutionary tradition, as well as contribute to promoting friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive co-operation between the two peoples.
Ambassador Hung noted that the Ho Chi Minh–West Truong Son Trail was a shining symbol of Laos’s sacrifices and support for Vietnam, and a great and everlasting monument of the special solidarity of the two nations.
In May 1959, the People’s Army of Vietnam established Group 559 in order to construct the Ho Chi Minh Trail as a supply route for southern battlefields. In late 1960, the Lao side accepted the plan and began supporting Vietnam in expanding the trail beyond the Vietnam–Laos border to the west of the Day Truong Son (Annamite Range), connecting it with the Southeastern Region.
The photo exhibition will run until October 6.
