President’s Thailand visit to lift strategic partnership: Ambassador

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh. (Photo: VNA) 

Bangkok (VNA) – President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s upcoming official visit to Thailand strongly affirms Vietnam’s commitment to lift the strategic partnership between two countries to a new height, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh has said. 

The leader, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam will pay an official visit to Thailand and attend the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok from November 16-19.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, the diplomat highlighted the significance of the trip, saying that this is the official visit of a State leader of Vietnam to Thailand after 24 years since the one by then President Tran Duc Luong in 1998 and nearly 10 years after the official visit to the country by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2013.

The visit is a new milestone in the relationship between the two friendly neighboring countries who are also the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thanh said.

In the past 24 years, especially after the two countries established a strategic partnership, the Vietnam-Thailand relations have developed strongly across fields, from political diplomacy, security-defense, economic cooperation, culture, education, science - technology to people-to-people exchange. 

During the visit, President Phuc and his spouse will have a meeting with the Thai King and Queen, and he will hold talks with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leader will attend signing ceremonies of a number of cooperative agreements, including an action plan to implement the enhanced strategic partnership between Vietnam and Thailand for 2022-2027.

He will also have meetings with President of the National Assembly of Thailand Chuan Leekpai and leaders of the Thai Senate and House of Representatives; and meet outstanding enterprises of both countries. 

Notably, the two countries will issue a Joint Statement, spotlighting new measures to strengthen political trust and deepen cooperation in various fields, the ambassador said. 

At the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the leader will have many bilateral meetings with leaders of APEC economies.  

The visit is expected to create a new vitality, becoming a historic milestone not only in the Vietnam-Thailand relations, but also in Vietnam's participation in the APEC forum, Ambassador Thanh said. 

According to the diplomat, economic cooperation plays a pillar role in the bilateral relations, and there is a large room for economic cooperation between the two countries in the coming time. Thailand is the eight largest investor out of the 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with nearly 700 projects worth over 13 billion USD. 

It is the biggest trading partner of Vietnam in ASEAN with two-way trade hitting 19 billion USD in 2021 and 10.6 billion USD in the first half of 2022. The two countries set to lift their trade to 25 billion USD by 2025. 

During President Phuc’s visit, the two sides will discuss the implementation of the connection of supply chains, production facilities and sustainable development policies of the two countries, which aim to further boost the bilateral economic ties, Thanh said. 

Regarding to Vietnam’s involvement in APEC’s cooperation mechanisms, the country has been always active in contributing ideas and participating in activities of APEC, playing an active role in implementing the Aotearoa Plan of Action on the APEC Vision to 2040, he noted.

Vietnam has strongly supported and closely coordinated with key APEC members and ASEAN member nations within APEC, contributing to promoting regional economic cooperation, economic recovery and sustainable, and inclusive growth; maintaining free and open trade -investment principle and the role of APEC as the leading economic linkage mechanism in the Asia-Pacific, Thanh added./.