Newhaven Port Town Authority twinned with Vinh City

On May 25, the authorities of the port town of Newhaven in southern England solemnly celebrated the 124th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh and signed a twinning agreement with Vinh city in Nghe An province, his hometown.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai - Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee witnessed the signing ceremony between representatives of Vinh city and Newhaven town (UK) (Photo: Do ​​Sinh/Vietnam+)

The ceremony was attended by many government leaders and people of Newhaven; a delegation from Nghe An province led by Mr. Le Xuan Dai, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; the Embassy and representative agencies of Vietnam, as well as overseas Vietnamese and students living and studying in the UK.

At the ceremony held at Newhaven Town Hall, Mr. Le Xuan Dai, on behalf of the delegation of Nghe An province, expressed his emotion when visiting the peaceful port town - where Uncle Ho used to live and work, and thanked the Newhaven government for preserving and cherishing valuable historical documents about President Ho Chi Minh. He also believed that the bond between the two localities of Vinh and Newhaven, stemming from the Ho Chi Minh connection, would contribute to further enhancing the increasingly developing relationship between Vietnam and the UK.

Representatives of the two local authorities, Mayor of Newhaven, Ms. Judith Ost and Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Sinh, signed the twinning agreement between the two sides.

Commenting on the agreement, Judith Ost said that the town council was very excited about the idea of ​​a sister city to Newhaven in another part of the world. This would open up many opportunities for both sides to share business, information technology, for young people from each side to visit each other and learn about each other’s culture.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Sinh expressed his hope that the Vinh-Newhaven twinning agreement will be the first step to create a foundation for British businesses and investors to know Nghe An, a land with a tradition of studiousness, diligence in work and creativity in business - to invest in development, contributing to further strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries as well as the two localities.

The ceremony ended with performances by Vietnamese students and Newhaven students. The young people with their singing voices added to the joyful and exciting atmosphere of the ceremony marking a new page in the history of relations between the two localities of the two countries.

Before that, the delegation visited the Newhaven History Museum - where for the past year there has been the presence of a bronze statue of Uncle Ho, a gift from the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK to the Newhaven government on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Uncle Ho's arrival in the UK on his journey to find a way to save the country (1913-2013).

Museum curators said the statue of Uncle Ho is very attractive to visitors, especially children. This is also an opportunity for them to introduce to the town's residents an outstanding leader of the world and Vietnam who lived and worked in this port town more than 100 years ago. On this occasion, Nghe An provincial leaders presented the museum with a photo of Uncle Ho's hometown in Nghe An and a miniature model of Uncle Ho's stilt house made of wood. These artifacts will contribute to making the understanding of Uncle Ho more vivid in Newhaven.

The delegation also came to offer flowers to commemorate Uncle Ho's birthday at the place where the marble slab marking President Ho Chi Minh and his connection with Newhaven is located on the town's windy harbor. Here, Mr. Graham Amy, former Mayor of Newhaven, enthusiastically recounted the arguments and historical documents affirming that the young man Nguyen Tat Thanh had worked on the ferry connecting Newhaven with a French town in the years after World War I.

According to Mr. Amy, the fact that a great world leader once visited this town is a great honor and pride for the people here. It is also a part of history that the town government wants to remind future generations./.

Offering flowers to commemorate Uncle Ho's birthday in front of the stone marking his mark in Newhaven. (Photo: Do ​​Sinh/Vietnam+)

According to VNA