The upcoming sixth Vietnam-India People Friendship Festival will help increase understanding, friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the two countries.
The festival will take place in Vietnam from October 20-26, it was reported at a press conference in Hanoi on October 15.
The event will be joined by 30 Indians from the worlds of politics, culture and art, with a delegation led by D.P.Tripathi, General Secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party and Vice President of the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO).
The Indian guests will be received by Party and State leaders, pay tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, offer incense at the monument dedicated to Indira Gandi, and visit Tran Quoc Pagoda where there is a Bo tree that was gifted to Ho Chi Minh by Indian President Rajendra Prasad in 1957.
They will make a tour to the central city of Da Nang to explore Champa culture and the Cu Chi underground tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, a historic relic site where local people took refuge and fought against US troops during the American war in Vietnam.
The event will include a talk themed "Vietnam-India Cultural Exchange" and a Vietnam-India joint artistic performance in Da Nang.
Nguyen Van My, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) said following the establishment of a strategic partnership between Vietnam and India in July 2007, VUFO and AIPSO have designed a series of activities in response to the strategy, including the organisation of an event to engage with people from all walks of life.
Accordingly, the first Vietnam-India People Friendship Festival was held in India in September 2007.