On the afternoon of May 31, the special plane carrying General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife, along with the high-level Vietnamese delegation, arrived in Manila to begin a state visit to the Republic of the Philippines, from May 31 to June 1, at the invitation of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his wife.
Welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife along with the high-level Vietnamese delegation at Villamor Airbase military airport were Philippine Agriculture Minister Tiu Laurel Jr., Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Lai Thai Binh and his wife, along with a large number of officials and staff of the Embassy and the Vietnamese community in the Philippines.
Vietnam and the Philippines are two Southeast Asian countries with good traditional friendly relations, sharing many strategic interests in maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1976, the relationship between the two countries has been constantly strengthened and developed in many fields, increasingly going deeper and more substantive.
In 2015, the establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the two countries was an important milestone, creating a foundation for promoting comprehensive cooperation in the new period. In recent years, Vietnam-Philippines relations have continued to maintain positive development momentum, notably the increase in political trust, expansion of economic cooperation and strengthening coordination on regional and international issues.
The State visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to the Philippines this time is of very special significance. This is the first visit of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam to the Philippines, taking place in the context that the two countries are aiming to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the Philippines is holding the role of Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2026.
The visit demonstrates Vietnam's high appreciation for the friendly and cooperative relations with the Philippines as well as with ASEAN and Southeast Asia. This is also an opportunity for senior leaders of the two countries to exchange in-depth views on major orientations to bring the Vietnam-Philippines Strategic Partnership to develop more strongly, substantively and effectively in the new period.
