 General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong gave a speech at the 32nd Diplomatic Conference on December 2023. (Photo: VOV) |
Some diplomats told VOV that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was not only a talented leader and a true communist, but also a modest and kindhearted person.
"I personally feel that Mr. Trong was a modest and unfussy person. He was simple in demeanor, simple in communication, and simple in the way he dressed.”
"I met him one time and I felt that he was friendly, wise, and down-to-earth. He had white hair and friendly smile to everyone.”
"I met the General Secretary a few times during overseas trips or in Hanoi. His simple and sincere manner left a special impression and good feelings on me.”
 General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Party Central Committee's Headquarters on June 20, 2024 during the later's State visit to Vietnam. (Photo: VOV) |
Associate Professor Chu Hoang Long, Director of the Center for Vietnam Policy Study of the Australia National University and Vice President of the Vietnam-Australia Scholars and Experts, said he remembered well Mr. Trong’s visit to Australia 16 years ago.
“When UncleTrong paid an official visit to Australia in 2008 as the Chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, I called him respectfully by his title and full name. But he said I can call him uncle. Since then when I talked about him, I called him Uncle Trong. My family will never forget the moment when he called to my three-year-old son: “Come, may I hold you?” Now my son is 20 years old, he remembers that he was carried by grandpa Trong.”
Vu Quang Minh, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia, UK, and Ireland, had the honor to welcome General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the UK in 2013 and Cambodia in 2019. Mr. Minh recalled that he was surprised and moved by the General Secretary, who had gone through a long trip, caught a cold in the severe UK winter, insisted on meeting with overseas Vietnamese. Although the Embassy informed the participants that the General Secretary could not attend the meeting, a few moments later he came in. All of the people were very happy and they had a warm meeting, said Mr. Minh.
 On December 12, 2023, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife hosted the official welcoming ceremony of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and his wife on a state visit to Vietnam. Photo: VOV |
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong left a good impression on foreign diplomats as an honest and modest leader who always thought for the people. Chairwoman of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Organization Men Sam An shared her feeling. “It was my honor to meet General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong many times when I had working trips in Vietnam and he visited Cambodia. He was always sociable, close, and friendly,” said Men Sam An.
Simplicity, sincerity, humility, exemplar behavior, and closeness are the unforgettable impressions of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in the hearts of Vietnamese and foreign diplomats.