On the morning of August 19, at the Presidential Palace, Politburo member and President Luong Cuong and his wife presided over the welcoming ceremony for King Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Queen.
This is the first State visit to Vietnam by the King of Bhutan and the Queen since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 2012.
Attending the welcoming ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Ethnic Minorities and Religions Dao Ngoc Dung; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan; Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Tam; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Hoang Trung; Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy; Vietnamese Ambassador to India concurrently holds the office of Bhutan Nguyen Thanh Hai; assistant to President Tong Thanh Tri.
A large number of children of the capital were present at the Presidential Palace waving flags of the two countries to welcome King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Queen with the high-ranking delegation of Bhutan.
The state visit to Vietnam by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his queen is an important event in the relationship between the two countries, demonstrating the respect of Bhutan for the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, as well as the role and position of Vietnam in the region; at the same time, it is a clear demonstration of Vietnam's foreign policy, which is independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification of relations with other countries, for peace, cooperation and development.
The convoy of cars carrying King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Queen enters the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong and his wife are present on the hot red carpet to welcome King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck leading the high-ranking delegation of the Kingdom of Bhutan on a state visit to Vietnam.
After that, the children of the capital came to present King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Queen with fresh bouquets of flowers.
In the welcoming music, President Luong Cuong and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck walked along the red carpet amid the welcoming waves of children to step up to the podium of honor. The military band played the national anthems of the two countries.
The two leaders approved the Honor Guard of the Vietnam People's Army. Then, President Luong Cuong and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck introduced members of the high-ranking delegations of the two countries to attend the welcoming ceremony.
The visit of King Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Queen aims to deepen and effectively the Vietnam - Bhutan relationship, especially in the fields of cooperation such as trade, investment, agriculture and green development, sustainable tourism, culture, religion, cooperation and mutual support at multilateral forums.
After the welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck led the high-ranking delegations of the two countries to hold talks, discuss and orient bilateral relations, as well as identify key areas of cooperation in the coming time.
