ASEAN holds minute of silence for President Tran Dai Quang
The meeting of permanent representatives to ASEAN observed a minute of silence for the President, and the association also sent condolences to his family.
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President Tran Dai Quang at a press conference in Hanoi in November 2017. Photo:Reuters. |
On behalf of the leaders of ASEAN countries, Singapore - the current ASEAN chair today sent the association's condolences to the family of the President, the government and people of Vietnam, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On September 26, at the 17th meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN in 2018, ambassadors, permanent representatives and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat observed a minute of silence to remember President Tran Dai Quang. The ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, flew the flag at half-mast from September 25-27 during the national mourning period for President Tran Dai Quang.
Leaders of countries and international organizations also sent letters and messages of condolences, such as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
"President Tran Dai Quang was a great patriot, politician and a good friend of India," the message from Indian President Kovind read. "We always remember his contributions in deepening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and India."
"President Tran Dai Quang has made great contributions to promoting Vietnam's international integration process, which is remembered by the Vietnamese people and the international community," wrote German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
President Tran Dai Quang passed away on the morning of September 21 at the 108 Military Central Hospital after a long battle with a serious illness. He was born in 1956 in Quang Thien Commune, Kim Son District, Ninh Binh Province. He was a member of the 10th Party Central Committee; a member of the 11th and 12th Politburo, and served as Minister of Public Security before being elected President in April 2016.
The funeral of President Tran Dai Quang will begin at 7am today at the National Funeral Home No. 5 Tran Thanh Tong, Hanoi. Many leaders and high-ranking delegations from foreign countries such as Cambodia, Laos, China, South Korea, Cuba, Russia, etc. have come to pay their respects, including at 7:30am on September 27, and the burial will take place at 3:30pm the same day at the President's hometown in Hamlet 13, Quang Thien Commune, Kim Son District, Ninh Binh Province.
