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Putin offers condolences to Vietnam’s president over death of Communist Party chief

The Russian president met with Nguyen Phu Trong in June during his visit to Vietnam

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to Vietnamese President To Lam over the passing of the country’s Communist Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, according to the telegram published on the Kremlin’s website.

"Nguyen Phu Trong’s entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland. Throughout years of his tenure in senior positions in the government and the party, he earned enormous respect among his fellow country people and a remarkable reputation in the international arena. In Russia, he will always be remembered as a true friend of our country, who made a huge personal contribution to the establishment and development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Moscow and Hanoi," the telegram reads.

Putin met with Nguyen Phu Trong in June during his visit to Vietnam, and they held talks. Putin then invited Vietnamese leaders, including the Communist Party chief, to visit Russia at any convenient time.

Phu Trong

Nguyen Phu Trong passed away at the age of 80 following a period of illness. He was born in Hanoi’s Dong Anh suburban area on April 14, 1944. He graduated from Hanoi State University’s Philology Department and earned a PhD in Philology. Later, he grew into a professor, earning a doctorate degree in political science when studying at the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1981-1983. Nguyen Phu Trong did the Russian language and literature.

Before being elected Secretary General of the Central Committee of Vietnam’s Communist Party for the first time in 2011, Nguyen Phu Trong was speaker of the National Assembly (parliament) for five years and before that he had held some senior positions in the country’s party. He was elected secretary general of the Communist Party three times - in 2011, 2016 and 2021. Between October 2018 and January 2021, Nguyen Phu Trong served also as Vietnam’s president following the passing of President Tran Dai Quang, who was to be in office from 2016 to 2021.

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