Hanoi (VNA) - A ceremony was held at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi on May18 to mark the 130th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh (May19, 1890-2020).

Party General Secretaryand State President Nguyen Phu Trong told the gathering that President Ho is asymbol of patriotism and revolutionary heroism.

He was the crystallizationof the morality, knowledge, mettle, and conscience of the nation and the era, Trongsaid.

President Ho devotedhis entire life to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese Party and peopleand international friends, he went on, stressing that his fame and career will foreverbe in the hearts of Vietnamese people and humankind.

He passed down a valuableideological heritage and is a shining example of morality and lifestyle to theVietnamese Party and people, Trong said.

Recalling the latePresident’s glorious life and revolutionary career, he said President Ho’sthoughts are a comprehensive and profound system of views on basic matters in Vietnam’srevolution and are the result of the innovative application and development ofMarxism-Leninism to Vietnam’s specific conditions and the promotion of traditionalvalues and the absorption of humankind’s cultural quintessence.

His thoughts are alsoa precious spiritual asset of the Vietnamese Party and people that forever lightup the revolutionary cause of the Party and people from victory to victory andcontribute to the common struggle of nations around the world for peace,national independence, democracy, and social progress.

The founder and mentorof the Party, President Ho always paid special attention to Party building, in order to make it a truly revolutionary Party that has morals and is civilized.

Party General SecretaryTrong quoted President Ho’s call for efforts to preserve and consolidatesolidarity and consensus within the Party, saying that Party building andrectification must be in tandem with the building of the State of the people,by the people, and for the people, and the building of socialist democracy.

President Ho is ashining example and model of revolutionary morality, the senior leader said, andhe urged officials, Party members, and the people to follow his teachings andexamples to perfect themselves.

Trong pointed out thetasks ahead: continuing to enhance the building and rectification of the Partyand the entire political system, making them pure and strong in politics,ideology, organisation and morality; and improving the leadership, governance and combatcapacity of the Party and building a socialist State ruled by law, “of thepeople, by the people, and for the people.”

It is necessary topromote the close-knit relations between the Party and the people, build the Partybased on the people, promote the people’s democracy and right to ownership, andpreserve solidarity and consensus with the Party, he said.

“In followingPresident Ho’s instructions on enhancing revolutionary morality and sweeping awayindividualism, we need to resolutely, persistently, and actively purify theParty, prevent and drive back corruption, degradation in politicalideology, morality and lifestyle of officials and Party members, and phenomena suchas ‘self-evolution’ and ‘self-transformation’ within the Party,” he stressed.

Trong called forgreater efforts to complete targets and tasks, first of all dealing with the adverseimpacts of COVID-19, ensuring social welfare while optimising opportunities tofulfil socioeconomic development tasks in 2020, thus successfully completingtasks set for the Party’s 12th tenure and the 2021-2020 period and preparingand organising all-level Party congresses towards the 13th NationalParty Congress./.