ASEAN leaders issue message of condolences on Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s death

“It is with deep sadness that we learnt of the passing of His Excellency Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam on July 19, 2024. In this time of national grief and mourning, we wish to extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s family and loved ones, as well as the Government and people of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” the message reads.

“General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s leadership and lifelong service to his people and country will be profoundly remembered and his contributions to regional and international peace, friendship and cooperation will be an invaluable and enduring legacy,” it says.

At the meeting of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Commission on Wednesday, the first activity within the framework of the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings, Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries observed a minute of silence to express their deep condolences on the passing of the Vietnamese Party General Secretary, a leader who made important contributions to peace, friendship and cooperation in the region and the world, it says.

The Vietnamese Party leader passed away in Hanoi at 1:38 p.m. on July 19 due to old age and severe illness, at the age of 80.

He will lie in state at the National Funeral Home at 5 Tran Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi. Mourners can pay their respect from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. A memorial ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on July 26, and he will be buried at Mai Dich Cemetery on Ho Tung Mau Street at 3 p.m. the same day.