Top leader meets Vietnamese embassy staff, community in Sri Lanka

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, met with staff of representative agencies and the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka on May 8 as part of his state visit to the South Asian nation.

At the meeting, Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam said the visit carries strategic significance as the two countries have just marked the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties and are seeking to elevate bilateral cooperation in the new context. It offers an opportunity for both sides to review cooperation achievements over the past five decades and identify orientations and concrete measures to lift ties to a higher level.

The ambassador also highlighted the solidarity and cohesion of the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka, saying the overseas Vietnamese have always turned their hearts towards the homeland and actively contributed to community activities while maintaining confidence in the Party and State leadership.

Speaking with the embassy staff and overseas Vietnamese, General Secretary and President Lam briefed them on Vietnam’s outstanding socio-economic achievements and strategic policies over the recent past. He stressed the significance of the visit in promoting comprehensive and effective cooperation between the two countries.

The top leader commended the ambassador and embassy staff for their strong sense of responsibility and efforts in preparing for the visit, contributing to practical and substantive outcomes.

He affirmed that Vietnam always values its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Sri Lanka, noting the relationship has been nurtured by generations of leaders over the past 55 years.

During the visit, he went on, the two sides agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership, establishing a higher level of political trust and expanding cooperation in a more substantive and comprehensive manner across all fields.

Although the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka remains modest in size, the top leader noted that they have maintained solidarity, preserved the national cultural identity, and remained closely connected to the homeland.

He praised the community’s efforts in preserving Vietnamese culture, language and traditions and called on them to uphold the national identity while integrating well into the host society and complying with local laws.

General Secretary and President Lam also asked the embassy to continue effectively implementing the Party and State’s foreign policy and proactively proposing measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

He stressed the need to effectively utilise the newly established Comprehensive Partnership, work towards raising bilateral trade to 1 billion USD by 2030, and coordinate closely with domestic and Sri Lankan authorities to facilitate Vietnamese firms' operations in the host country. Besides, it is important to promote cultural, religious, people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges; pay more attention to the Vietnamese community's spiritual life; and step up citizen protection.