Immediately after the high-level talks, witnessing the handover ceremony of cooperation documents between ministries and sectors of the two countries, on the morning of May 8 (local time), General Secretary and President To Lam and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met with the press.
Speaking at a meeting with the press, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake highly appreciated and expressed his impression of Vietnam's development achievements, believing that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country will continue to develop strongly.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his desire to continue to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in areas where the two sides have potential; expand cultural, educational, religious and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to strengthening the relationship between the two countries. The two sides strengthen multilateral cooperation and close coordination in regional and international issues of common concern for peace, stability and development cooperation.
At the press conference, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also expressed his gratitude to the Vietnamese Government for giving Sri Lanka meaningful and practical gifts.
General Secretary and President To Lam said that the two sides had just had a very successful meeting; highly appreciated the solid friendship, trust and mutual support that the two countries have built over more than 55 years of establishing diplomatic relations; shared visions about the region, about the world and unified in the current key context, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are converging many similar opportunities and benefits to bring the relations between the two countries to a new height.
The two sides agreed to upgrade Vietnam - Sri Lanka relations to a Comprehensive Partnership; committed to continuing to consolidate and strengthen friendly cooperation, establish high-level political trust, and expand the scope and level of cooperation towards comprehensiveness and substance in all fields.
The two sides agreed to focus on deepening political, defense and security cooperation on the basis of trust, understanding and mutual respect, further strengthening high-level exchanges and contacts, across all Party, State, National Assembly and people-to-people exchange channels as well as maintaining regular bilateral cooperation mechanisms.
The two sides strengthen economic, trade, investment, agricultural, energy, and science and technology cooperation in a substantive and mutually beneficial direction; implement breakthrough measures to soon achieve the trade turnover target of 1 billion USD; towards a bilateral trade and investment agreement between the two countries in the future.
General Secretary and President To Lam welcomed Vietnamese airlines to open direct flights between the two countries, this will be a breakthrough in connectivity, creating favorable conditions to strengthen cooperation in many fields.
