On the morning of March 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated with the Algerian Embassy in Vietnam to organize a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the plane crash in Soc Son and inaugurate the upgrade of the memorial site for Vietnamese and Algerian officials and reporters who died in the plane crash on March 8, 1974.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang speaks. Photo: An Dang/VNA
Attending the event were representatives of ministries, sectors, localities, organizations, businesses, related units and especially relatives of some officials and reporters who sacrificed their lives. Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang stated that 50 years ago, 15 Algerian journalists, technicians, 2 diplomatic officials, 6 military officers, crew members and 9 Vietnamese reporters sacrificed their lives in a plane crash while accompanying Algerian President Houari Boumediene on an official visit to Vietnam. "The great sacrifice of you has contributed to deepening the close affection and traditional friendship between the Governments and peoples of Vietnam and Algeria," Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang emphasized. According to Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, to commemorate the officers and reporters of the two countries who died, the Memorial Area for Vietnamese and Algerian officers and reporters who died in the plane crash in Mai Dinh commune, Soc Son district, Hanoi city was built and completed in 2000.
Delegates perform the ceremony to inaugurate the memorial stele. Photo: An Dang/VNA
The Memorial has become a place where people of the two countries come together every year to review the great contributions of previous generations, and to foster the increasingly strong traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria. Over the years, with the attention of the Hanoi city authorities and the people of Mai Dinh commune, the Memorial has always been respectfully preserved. In order to have a Memorial area commensurate with the increasingly good relationship between Vietnam and Algeria, with the attention and support of ministries and branches, the close direction of the leaders of the Hanoi City People's Committee, the Soc Son District People's Committee and the Mai Dinh Commune People's Committee, the support of the Algerian Embassy in Hanoi, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Corporation and the people of Mai Dinh commune, after many months of implementation, the project to upgrade the Memorial Area for Vietnamese and Algerian officials and reporters who died in the plane crash on March 8, 1974 was inaugurated. "The expansion and restoration of the Memorial Area is a meaningful and humane activity, contributing to expressing gratitude to the cadres and reporters who sacrificed their blood and bones to foster the relationship between our two countries, and is a place to educate the young generations of the two countries today and tomorrow about revolutionary ideals, patriotism and the tradition of friendship and cooperation between the two peoples of Vietnam and Algeria," Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed.
Chargé d'Affaires of the Algerian Embassy in Vietnam Redga Oucher speaks. Photo: An Dang / VNA
Expressing gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hanoi People's Committee, Soc Son District and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group for renovating the Memorial Site, Mr. Redha Oucher, Chargé d'Affaires of the Algerian Embassy in Vietnam, emphasized that the Memorial Site is considered an extremely strong bridge in the history of traditional relations, recalling the friendship between Vietnam and Algeria, thereby demonstrating the spirit of solidarity in the struggle against colonialism and for independence of the two nations. At the ceremony, delegates offered incense and commemorated the officers and reporters who sacrificed their lives.
Chargé d'Affaires of the Algerian Embassy in Vietnam Redga Oucher offers incense in memory. Photo: An Dang/ VNA
Major General Do Thanh Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Propaganda and Training, General Department of Politics, Ministry of National Defense, offers incense in memory. Photo: An Dang/VNA
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