In a nine-page letter to the people of Vietnam after an official visit to the country from May 23-25, the South African President wrote, “As we grew up in our own liberation movement and struggle, we accepted at least two of Vietnam's outstanding leaders, the late President Ho Chi Minh, and General Giap, as our own leaders. Constantly, we sought to understand what they stood for, what they said, and what they did, because we felt that all this was directly relevant to the victory of our own struggle.”

He continued: “In many ways, the Vietnamese people’s victories over the major world powers during the 20th century echoed the historic successes scored by the African slaves of Haiti at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, when they defeated the Spanish, British and French military machines.

“Surely, one day, when we act to expose our youth to the historic struggles of the oppressed for their liberation, we will communicate the unequivocal message that the victories in Haiti and Vietnam have taken pride of place among the great moments that they and all freedom-loving people should celebrate for all time,” he said.

President Thabo Mbeki and his entourages were also strongly impressed with the pains and loses that Vietnamese people suffered from the struggle for national independence and freedom, as well as great socio-economic achievements in the country's current renewal process and national construction.