They know that Ho Chi Minh was close to Soekarno, and the two countries have maintained a long relationship
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's first president Soekarno has been popular among Vietnamese citizens as he had a close relationship with the country's first leader, Ho Chi Minh, the Ambassador of Indonesia to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi said during an interview for ANTARA, here, Saturday. "They know that Ho Chi Minh was close to Soekarno, and the two countries have maintained a long relationship," he added.

Ho Chi Minh (born 1890, died 1969) was the president of Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) from 1945 to 1969 period. For three decades, he chaired the Vietnamese nationalist movement which fought against the French colonial government.

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Meanwhile, Soekarno (born 1901, died 1970) was the leader of Indonesia's independence and the first president of the country for nearly three decades. Similar to Ho Chi Minh, Soekarno was also popular in the anti-colonial movement in Indonesia.

After the two countries gained independence, Vietnam and Indonesia established a bilateral relationship in 1955. Soedibjo Wirjowerdojo, who was posted in Hanoi, was the first Indonesian consul to Vietnam.

Apart from Soekarno, Indonesia's national soccer team has also attracted the attention of most Vietnamese citizens.

"They love soccer, and for Vietnam's people Indonesia's national soccer team was good, but now the Vietnamese soccer team has stepped past us in some recent games," he explained.

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Furthermore, the Vietnamese also knew about Indonesia because it was the host of the Asian Games twice in 1962 and 2018.

However, the ambassador still wished to introduce information about Indonesia to Vietnamese citizens. One of his plans was to organize an Indonesian language course in Hanoi.

"We started opening a course in the Indonesian language for Vietnam's citizens last year at three locations. At least 100 people had joined the course," he added.
(INE)
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Translator: Genta Tenri Mawangi
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019