(VOVworld)- A meeting took place in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday to celebrate the city's 40^th anniversary of changing its name from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh (02/07/1976-02/07/2016). In his address, President Tran Dai Quang praised the city’s robust development over the past 40 years.

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang

He said HCM City is a special urban, an economic, political, cultural, and social center and a key region in the south. He asked the National Assembly, the government, sectors, and localities to facilitate the city’s development. He stressed the importance of upholding the heroic tradition and promoting dynamism and creativity to create more breakthroughs: “HCM City needs to take the lead in implementing guidelines in socio-economic development, focus on Party building, and promote cultural development. The Party and people closely follow the city’s developments, appreciate its achievements, and ready to share difficulties with the city".