Previously, on the morning of May 4, President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayaka arrived in Hanoi, starting a state visit to Vietnam and attending the United Nations Buddha's hand ceremony Vesak from May 4-6, 2025, at the invitation of Politburo member and President Luong Cuong.
On the same afternoon, at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, General Secretary To Lam received President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.
Vietnam and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations on July 21, 70. The two countries have a traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation.
Political parties in Sri Lanka sympathize and attach importance to the relationship with Vietnam, considering Vietnam a successful model in economic development for Sri Lanka to learn from. Sri Lanka has recognized Vietnam as having a full market economy.
VNA quoted Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trinh Thi Tam as saying that President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka's visit to Vietnam is the first visit in 16 years since 2009 by a head of state of Sri Lanka and also the first visit to Vietnam by President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka since taking office in September 2024.
On the Vietnamese side, the visit will be an opportunity to reaffirm the respect for Sri Lanka, a traditional friend and an important partner of Vietnam in the South Asian region, and at the same time exchange and promote mutually beneficial cooperation, especially in areas where both countries have strengths such as trade, investment, agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, education, culture, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and people-to-people exchanges.
The visit contributes to promoting cooperation in new and potential areas such as digital transformation, digital economy, energy transformation, and artificial intelligence.
The visit took place on the occasion of Vietnam and Sri Lanka to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1970-2025), which is an opportunity for the two sides to look back on cooperative relations after more than 5 decades of formation and development, thereby proposing directions and measures to consolidate and develop friendly and cooperative relations in the context of the new situation, in accordance with the interests of the two countries, and to develop in the same area, to contribute to the common, peaceful development in the area.
"I believe that the visit to Vietnam by the President of Sri Lanka this time will be the beginning of a more extensive phase of cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka in the coming years, bringing benefits to both countries and contributing to the peace, cooperation, development and common prosperity of the region and the world" - Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam expressed her confidence.
