Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phùng Thế Long delivers a speech at the event. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Hiển

GENEVA — The 79th anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day of Vietnam (September 2) was celebrated with a ceremony held in Bern on August 18.

The event saw the presence of Ambassador Mai Phan Dũng, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva; representatives of the Vietnamese People Association in Switzerland and the Switzerland - Việt Nam Friendship Association; and nearly 500 guests who are Vietnamese people and international friends from across the European country.

After the flag saluting ceremony, participants also observed a minute of silence in commemoration of late Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, a particularly outstanding leader of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV), the country, and the Vietnamese people.

In his remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phùng Thế Long underlined the significance of the August Revolution in 1945, led by the CPV and President Hồ Chí Minh, along with the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam (now Socialist Republic of Vietnam) delivered by the then President on September 2, 1945.

He informed participants of the homeland’s developments along with fruitful partnerships between the two countries so far this year.

Since the start of 2024, many high-level meetings as well as trade and investment promotion activities have taken place. Some Vietnamese localities such as Cần Thơ, Vĩnh Long, Bắc Giang, Thái Bình, and Lạng Sơn have organised trade and investment promotion events in Switzerland while exchanging socio-economic development experience with partners in the European nation.

Long also appreciated the contributions by the Vietnamese community and Swiss friends to the community’s solidarity as well as the preservation and popularisation of the Vietnamese culture.

In particular, after years of the community’s efforts, the administrations of Geneva and Zurich agreed to include Vietnamese among the optional foreign languages at public schools in these states, he added. — VNS