Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presided over the welcoming ceremony for the Thai Prime Minister on an official visit to Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomes Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

Delighted to welcome a Thai Prime Minister to visit Vietnam after 11 years and co-chair the first joint Cabinet meeting of the two countries' Prime Ministers after 10 years, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh went to the car door to welcome Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Children in Hanoi warmly welcomed Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on his official visit to Vietnam. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

After receiving a bouquet of flowers from the children of Hanoi, the Thai Prime Minister and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh walked on the red carpet towards the podium of honor amid the waving of students with the Thai and Vietnamese national flags in their hands. When the two leaders stepped onto the podium, under the flags of the two countries, the national anthems of Thailand and Vietnam were played.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra review the Guard of Honour of the Vietnam People's Army. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

In a solemn atmosphere, the two Prime Ministers walked forward to salute the national flags of the two countries. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh invited Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to inspect the Guard of Honour of the Vietnam People's Army. The two Prime Ministers introduced to each other the members of the high-ranking delegations of the two countries attending the welcoming ceremony; and together witnessed the welcoming parade of the Guard of Honour of the Vietnam People's Army.

After the welcoming ceremony, the two Prime Ministers moved to the Government Office for talks. Before the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited a photo exhibition on the country, people and good relations between Vietnam and Thailand, organized by the Government Office in coordination with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

This is the first visit to Vietnam by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra since she took office. The visit is an opportunity for both sides to review the progress of promoting cooperation in all fields in the recent past, aiming to deepen and substantiate the relationship in the upcoming era of cooperation and development.

After 49 years of establishing diplomatic relations and 10 years of establishing the Enhanced Strategic Partnership, the Vietnam - Thailand relationship has developed remarkably, achieving many important, substantive and effective achievements in almost all fields. With high political trust, the two sides regularly exchange delegations and high-level contacts; maintain bilateral cooperation mechanisms and closely cooperate at regional and international forums, especially at ASEAN, APEC, the United Nations, the Mekong sub-region, etc.

Economy - trade - investment is a prominent pillar of cooperation in the relationship between the two countries. Thailand is Vietnam's largest trading partner in ASEAN and ranks 9th in the world with two-way trade turnover in 2024 reaching over 20.2 billion USD. By January 2025, Thailand is the 9th largest investor out of 149 countries and territories investing in Vietnam and ranks 2nd among ASEAN countries with 757 valid projects, with a total registered capital of over 14.35 billion USD. Vietnam has 18 newly licensed investment projects in Thailand and 3 capital adjustment projects, with a total registered capital of 34.2 million USD, ranking 33rd out of 80 countries and territories with investment capital from Vietnam.

Cooperation in the fields of culture, labor, education and training, tourism, people-to-people exchange, etc. has achieved many important results. Currently, the Thai Government is supporting Vietnamese universities to teach Thai language; providing Thai language training for Vietnamese students and lecturers in Thailand. In 2024, there will be more than 984 thousand Vietnamese tourists visiting Thailand and more than 418 thousand Thai tourists visiting Vietnam. Thailand is promoting the "six countries, one destination" tourism cooperation initiative.

Currently, 19 pairs of provinces and cities of the two countries have signed cooperation and sisterhood agreements. The Thai-Vietnamese community has more than 100,000 people, playing an important role as a bridge of solidarity and friendship between the people of the two countries.

This working visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the high-ranking delegation of the Royal Thai Government is an important milestone in the relationship between the two countries, towards the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1976-2026).

During the visit, the Thai Prime Minister will co-chair the 4th Joint Cabinet Meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and attend the Vietnam - Thailand Business Forum. The Thai Prime Minister will also meet with senior leaders of the Party and State; and will also have other important activities.

Along with reviewing the results of cooperation, the two sides discussed bringing the Vietnam-Thailand relationship to a new level, more substantive and effective. In particular, the two sides will focus on exchanging measures to continue strengthening political trust, exchanging delegations and cooperation between all channels of the Party, Government, National Assembly and localities; closely coordinating at regional and international forums, especially within the framework of ASEAN and Mekong sub-regional mechanisms.

The two sides will review the progress of implementing plans and initiatives in this field, including the “Three Connections” initiative: connecting supply chains in industries such as petrochemical refining, agriculture and machinery and electronic components manufacturing; connecting businesses and localities of the two countries; connecting sustainable development strategies, including Vietnam’s Green Growth Strategy to 2030 and Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economic Model. The two sides will promote trade and investment cooperation, striving to bring two-way trade turnover to 25 billion USD by 2030.

The two sides will discuss measures to connect localities as well as enhance cultural and tourism exchanges, creating a sustainable social foundation for friendly relations between the two countries.

The Thai Prime Minister's visit to Vietnam contributes to creating new momentum for the Vietnam-Thailand relationship to develop more comprehensively and firmly in the future, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, contributing to peace, stability and prosperous development in Asia as well as in the world.

Pham Tiep

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/chinh-tri/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-chu-tri-le-don-thu-tuong-thai-lan-tham-chinh-thuc-viet-nam-20250516093636385.htm