- Title: Vietnamese leaders pay their respect to Fidel Castro at Cuban embassy in Hanoi
- Date: 28th November 2016
- Summary: HANOI, VIETNAM (NOVEMBER 28, 2016) (REUTERS) PEOPLE QUEUING IN FRONT OF CUBAN EMBASSY
- Embargoed: 13th December 2016 07:05
- Keywords: Vietnam Cuba Fidel Castro embassy
- Location: HANOI, VIETNAM
- City: HANOI, VIETNAM
- Country: Vietnam
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ACY72F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Vietnam's top leaders visited the Cuban embassy in Hanoi on Monday (November 28) to pay homage to the late Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and President Tran Dai Quang who was the last state leader to meet Fidel in Cuba, came to pay their respect.
Their visit was followed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh's, who came to offer his condolences to Cuba's ambassador to Vietnam Herminio Lopez Diaz.
A crowd of hundreds of Vietnamese people, many holding flowers and carrying wreaths, formed a line outside waiting for their turn to pay respect to the iconic revolutionary leader.
"I came here today because I learnt that Fidel Castro has passed away at the age of 90. Our feeling for the beloved leader of the Cuban people knows no end. We are mourning over his death," said doctor Pham Duc Thinh who spent 6 years in Cuba for his medical training.
Former exchange student Dinh Thi Minh Huyen remembered when Fidel Castro came to visit a sugarcane farm where she was working at the time:
"I am paying homage to him because I used to study in Cuba. I have a lot of love for both the country and Fidel Castro. I admire him. And I have much respect for him," said Huyen.
Many more Vietnamese who went to study in Cuba stood in line to pay their respect for the man they say is responsible for their education.
Many Vietnamese would remember Fidel's famous saying during the Vietnam war: "For Vietnam, Cubans are prepared to give even their blood".
To most, Fidel Castro has become a symbol of revolutionary heroism with an undaunted spirit and aspirations to freedom.
Fidel Castro visited Vietnam in 1973 and went to a front line army headquarter. He came back two more times in 1995 and 2003 and met with Vietnam's own legendary general Vo Nguyen Giap, who passed away in 2013. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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