Department of Ho Chi Minh Studies inaugurated at University of Havana

5/22/2025 - 10:44:27 AM

A new Department of Ho Chi Minh Studies was officially inaugurated at the University of Havana (Cuba) on May 19, 2025, marking a significant milestone in academic and cultural cooperation between Viet Nam and Cuba.

The delegates attend the inauguration ceremony for the Department of Ho Chi Minh Studies. (Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Viet Nam in Cuba)

The department operates under the Faculty of Philosophy, History, and Sociology and is dedicated to research on President Ho Chi Minh, the great leader of Viet Nam. The launch coincided with the 135th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890 – 2025), a date of profound significance for both Vietnamese and Cuban people. Notably, May 19 is also the date Cuban national hero José Martí sacrificed his life in the struggle for national independence.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Quang Long hailed the establishment of the department as a new bridge for fostering academic collaboration and deepening mutual understanding between the two nations.

He expressed his belief that the Department of Ho Chi Minh Studies would become a prestigious centre for education and research on Viet Nam — not only in Cuba but also across Latin America and around the world.

The department is expected to host a wide range of activities such as seminars, dialogues, book presentations, art exhibitions, and in-depth research programs. It will also work to establish cooperative networks with universities and research organisations both domestically and internationally, with a particular focus on partnerships with Vietnamese institutions.

President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology is not only the guiding light of the Vietnamese revolution but also a profound source of inspiration for national liberation movements and struggles against oppression worldwide.

In 1987, UNESCO honoured President Ho Chi Minh as a "hero of national liberation and a great man of culture.” His image continues to symbolise peace, freedom, and justice across the globe.

During the inauguration, Ambassador Le Quang Long presented a book on President Ho Chi Minh to the department’s leadership, underscoring the cultural and diplomatic significance of the occasion. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba)

The establishment of the Department of Ho Chi Minh Studies stands as a vivid testament to the strong and longstanding friendship between Viet Nam and Cuba - a relationship forged and nurtured over decades since the 1960s, when Cuba became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish full diplomatic relations with Viet Nam.

The department will manage and coordinate research projects, training programmes, and cooperation initiatives with the aim to make meaningful contributions to the development of Viet Nam-Cuba relations in the fields of academia and culture.

Source: NDO

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