Vietnam President says ready to move to new phase of cooperation with Myanmar

Vietnamese President To Lam has stated that Vietnam is ready to move to a new phase of robust and practical cooperation with Myanmar. This statement was made during a meeting between Myanmar's Head of State Min Aung Hlaing and Vietnamese President To Lam, along with officials from both countries, at the National Assembly Guest Hall in Hanoi on the morning of September 5th (local time). During the meeting, the Vietnamese President expressed his congratulations on Myanmar's successful general elections and the formation of a new elected government. He also praised the significant achievements made by the Myanmar government and its people under the leadership of the esteemed President in achieving stability and peace, developing socio-economic conditions, strengthening the administrative machinery, and enhancing international and regional relations. It is mentioned that U Nu, the Prime Minister of Myanmar, visited Vietnam in 1954, and President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam visited Myanmar in February 1958, laying the foundation for friendly relations between the two countries. The Vietnamese President stated that the current visit by the esteemed President will further strengthen the friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and partnership between the two countries, and will bring about many practical results that will deepen and solidify Vietnam-Myanmar relations in the coming period. Following this, Myanmar's Head of State Min Aung Hlaing expressed his great pleasure in meeting again with the esteemed Vietnamese President, and extended his special gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to his delegation. He also expressed pride in To Lam's role as Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the country. Min Aung Hlaing stated that he has visited Vietnam three times before, and this is his fourth visit, and it is also his first visit to Vietnam since being elected as the President of his country. He mentioned that every time he visits Vietnam, he witnesses and feels the beauty and rapid development of the country. The Head of State noted with pleasure that diplomatic relations between the two countries have reached their 50th anniversary, and that during this long period of diplomatic relations, friendly cooperation has been achieved in various sectors and fields. Furthermore, he stated that the comprehensive partnership established between the two countries in 2017 will reach its 10th anniversary in 2027, and to commemorate this milestone, efforts will be made together to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level and to formulate a practical cooperation plan for the next decade. He also stated that currently, in Myanmar, the parliament and government, which emerged from free and fair general elections, are carrying out their duties, and his government is implementing two priority objectives: achieving national stability and peace, and achieving national development. He mentioned that the Myanmar-India-Thailand trilateral highway project is also being implemented, and through this road, Vietnam can access markets in South Asia and the West, including India, via Laos and Myanmar, and Myanmar can also easily connect to East Asian markets via Laos and Vietnam. He expressed his belief that the traditional friendship and comprehensive, multi-sector cooperation between Myanmar and Vietnam will reach a new level. Following this, the Vietnamese President stated that Vietnam will conduct studies and cooperate on strengthening the East-West Economic Corridor connecting Myanmar-Thailand-Laos-Vietnam, and on the India-Myanmar-Laos-Vietnam route. He also expressed a desire to promote cooperation in various fields, including enhancing political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries, promoting defense and security, economic, trade, and investment cooperation, communication, information technology cooperation, social, cultural, educational, and tourism cooperation, and mutual cooperation and support on regional and international fronts. Afterward, the Myanmar Head of State and the Vietnamese President exchanged views on various topics, including Myanmar's political developments, economic, trade, and investment matters, agriculture and livestock, industrial sector, renewable energy sector, education, health, and human resource development, communication, digital technology and innovation, social and women's affairs, culture and people-to-people exchanges, tourism and air transport, combating online fraud and gambling, regional and international cooperation, and the enhancement of existing friendship and cooperation. At the end of the meeting, the two leaders warmly greeted the officials from both countries who were present.