Speaking in the event, Ambassador Pranay Verma hailed Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of peace and non-violence that completely transformed the political thought in the 20^th century. He said: “As we celebrate  the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the power of his messages is reflected in the continued and probably even stronger relevance today. Whether it is the philosophy of non-violence and peace or his vision of harmony with nature, it teaches us how to deal with today’s manace of extremism and terrorism. It tells us how to find a sustainable solution to climate change.”

“Mahatma Gandhi always set the benchmark for judging any action or policy with the impact it would create on the lives of the poorest. His vision of empowerment of the poorest today guides the quest for inclusive development. Our celebration today is an important occasion for us to reflect on and reaffirm those values and ideals that Mahatma Gandhi lived for,”  said the Indian Ambassador.

On this occasion, Vietnam Post released a set of commemorative postage stamps to mark the long term friendly bilateral relationships between Vietnam and India. The  stamps  carry pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, Ho Chi Minh, India’s Sanchi Stupa and Vietnam’s Thien Mu Pagoda. Vietnamese Information and Communications Deputy Minister Pham Anh Tuan said: “I hope the stamps’ meaningful pictures represent a message of cooperation between our two countries’ information and communications sectors as well as in bilateral cooperation in politics, trade and national defense.”

This year, India has been organizing various activities to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth.