Vietnam PM Pham Minh Chinh pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday visited Rajghat to pay floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his State visit from July 30 to August 1.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister paid his tribute by laying floral wreaths at the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was laid to rest, while "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram", a prayer dear to the Mahatma, was being played.

Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said in his post on X, "Remembering Bapu and his timeless ideals! PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat."

Earlier in the day, Pham Minh Chinh was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal were present on the occasion. PM Modi and Pham Minh Chinh met officials from the delegations of the two nations.

On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who arrived in India, on Tuesday. During the meeting, the Vietnamese PM expressed gratitude and thanked India for the warm reception.

"I want to thank you for your time, seeing me this afternoon. I want to thank you for your efforts in arranging my visit to India with such short notice and a very tight schedule. I would like to thank the two foreign ministries for making the best preparations for this visit," Pham Minh Chinh said.