It was a moment to behold – and one that was fortunately captured – as Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, was greeted by a 20,000-strong crowd at Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square, as part of a visit to his dear friend Ho Chi Minh, then president of what was the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Taken on June 24, 1959, the photograph was one of many historical artifacts put on display at the 60^th anniversary commemoration of the exchange of visits between the two revolutionary leaders, held at the National Archives Building in Jakarta over the weekend.

At the time, Sukarno had traveled to Vietnam as a reciprocal gesture to Bak (Uncle) Ho’s prior state visit to Indonesia in February 1959 – a small testament to what historians say was a long-lasting friendship based on a common struggle against colonial rule.

The exhibition opened on Friday with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi playing host to Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, alongside senior members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) as well as officials from both sides.

PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri, who followed in her father Sukarno’s footsteps to become president between 2001 and 2004, was initially scheduled to inaugurate the event but was unavailable due to activities in Japan, a senior party official told local news outlets. In a meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia on Nov. 1, Megawati was quoted by the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Online Newspaper as saying the events afforded both sides a chance to further foster their “bilateral friendship and peace in the world”.

Retno, who went in Megawati’s place, said Friday’s event had the former leader’s full support.

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