NA Vice Chairman meets Vietnamese community in Madagascar

Vietnam National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien and a high-ranking NA delegation paid a floral tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, and met with the Vietnamese community in the country on March 24.

National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien and the Vietnamese delegation take a picture with Vietnamese-Malagasy people at the President Ho Chi Minh statue in Antananarivo, Madagascar. (Photo: VNA)
National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien and the Vietnamese delegation take a picture with Vietnamese-Malagasy people at the President Ho Chi Minh statue in Antananarivo, Madagascar. (Photo: VNA)

According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Madagascar, about 400 people of Vietnamese origin are living in the African country. A group of Vietnamese offspring in Madagascar has also been formed in Antananarivo.

The NA Vice Chairman stressed that Vietnam always considers the Vietnamese community abroad as an inseparable part of the nation. He also highly valued the community’s spirit of turning their interest to the homeland, expressing his hope that they would continue to foster solidarity and abide by the law of the host country.

According to the Vietnamese Honorary Consul in Madagascar, Eric Andry Ramiandrasoa, construction of the 3.4m statue of President Ho Chi Minh commenced in 2001 and it was inaugurated in 2003 at the Ho Chi Minh square in Antananarivo. At the foot of the statue is a stone etched with the late leader’s famous words in French: “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”.

Later the same day, NA vice Chair Hien and the Vietnamese delegation visited the office of the Vietnamese Honorary Consul in Madagascar, during which he praised the office’s contributions in maintaining and fostering the ties between Vietnam and Madagascar. He asked the office to continue improving the connections between businesses of both sides.

Earlier, on March 23, Hien and the delegation began their visit to the country by meeting President of the Madagascar’s National Assembly Jean Max Rakotomamojy.

This is the first time the Vietnamese NA has sent a high-ranking delegation to the South African country.