Four decades ago, at the height of the Vietnam war, President Fidel Castro set foot on the famous battlefield of Quang Tri on his first visit to Vietnam.
“Viva Cuba! Viva Fidel” thousands of Vietnamese people flocked to the streets to welcome President Castro. |
Cuba's leader meets with Vietnamese people. He once claimed that: "For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to devote blood.” |
President Castro and former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. |
A sympathetic Fidel when he learned how harsh the war had been to Vietnam and how much the Vietnamese people had suffered. |
President Castro bursts into laughter after being presented with gifts from Quang Tri farmers. |
Cuba’s giant meets female guerrilla warriors. |
President Fidel Castro shakes hands with every single Quang Tri soldier. |
“Comrades, take this all-victorious flag to Saigon. See you in Saigon after the South is liberated!,” Fidel Castro said when he left. His visit ended on September 15, 1973 |
On this first visit, President Fidel Castro committed to give Vietnam a hand in constructing facilities including: Victory Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam-Cuba Hospital in Quang Binh Province, Moc Chau cattle ranch in Son La, Luong My poultry breed in Hanoi, and Vietnam – Cuba highway. Cuba also assisted Vietnam with $6 million of equipment and technology and was the biggest supporter of Vietnam in the negotiation to join the United Nations.
Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader who built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and for five decades defied U.S. efforts to topple him, died on November 25. He was 90.
Photos by Ho Sy So
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