The foreign minister of the ruling New Democracy party, Nikos Dendias, surprised many in Greece by announcing that a bust of Vietnam’s communist statesman, Marxist-Leninist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh would be erected in the city of Edessa (not to be confused with Odessa) in northern Greece.
President Ho Chi Minh, the founder of Vietnam, fought on the Macedonian front in the period 16-17, serving in the French army. Therefore, we agreed that his bust should be erected in Edessa to emphasize this.
In a tweet in Greek, the Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that he also discussed with his Vietnamese counterparts the transfer of the ashes of the Greek Sarantidis who fought in the army of Vietnam.
Dendias visited Vietnam on Monday following President of the Hellenic Republic Katherine Sakellaropoulou in May 2022 and Vice President of Vietnam Vo Thi An Xuan to Athens in November 2021.
Minister Dendias spoke of his meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son where the two diplomats agreed on the observation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Minister Son proposed the two sides finalize negotiations to sign the marine transportation agreement and the double tax avoidance agreement. He said Vietnam hopes Greece will lobby the EU to remove the yellow card for Vietnam’s seafood.
Minister Dendias affirmed that Greece supports sending Vietnamese workers to Greece and expressed its wish to place a President Ho Chi Minh Monument in Greece.
