HANOI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Memorial and burial services at state level for former Vietnamese prime minister Vo Van Kiet, dying of serious illness at the age of 86 on June 11, were organized in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday morning with the participation of many residents and officials, including the country's top party and state leaders.

    "The death of former prime minister Vo Van Kiet is a great loss to the party, state, people and his family... The comrade (Kiet) and party and state leaders led all people to conduct the renovation cause, bringing our country out of the socioeconomic crisis," Nong Duc Manh, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and head of the funeral board, said at the memorial service televised live by the Central Vietnam Television.

    Kiet had strategic thinking, strong determination for the renovation cause, and enterprising spirit, the top party leader stated, noting that the former prime minister, born in 1922 in southern Vinh Long province, engaged in revolutionary activities at the age of 16 and then held many important positions.

    Kiet was a former member of the committee's Political Bureau and a deputy of the seventh, eight and ninth National Assembly, the country's top legislature, and used to work as an advisor to the committee. He received the Sao Vang (Golden Star) Order, the state's highest distinction, for his immense contributions to the Vietnamese revolution in the last 70 years.

    He was buried at the Ho Chi Minh City Cemetery in the city.