Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with the King of Bhutan

(laichau.gov.vn) On the afternoon of August 19 at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan on the occasion of the King's State visit to Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with the King of Bhutan - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the first visit of a Bhutanese head of state to Vietnam, which is an important milestone in the relationship between the two countries; warmly congratulated Bhutan on the impressive achievements under the wise reign of the King in recent times, especially sustainable economic development associated with preserving traditional cultural identity and protecting the ecological environment; highly appreciated the philosophy of "Total National Happiness" that Bhutan consistently implements, considering this an inspiring criterion for the international community in moving towards harmonious, inclusive and sustainable development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the King of Bhutan visit a photo exhibition on the relationship between the two countries - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Appreciating the positive development of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2012, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam and Bhutan share many similarities in culture, economy and development goals, improving the material and spiritual life of the people; believed that the King's state visit to Vietnam would be a great success, creating new momentum for bilateral relations, in the context of rapid and complicated developments in the region and the world; suggested that the two countries promote cooperation to deal with common challenges in the region and the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh introduces heritages in Vietnam to the King of Bhutan - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister informed the King about the process of nation building since Vietnam gained independence 80 years ago, and shared about Vietnam's development policies, orientations and goals for the coming time.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam wishes to promote cooperation with Bhutan, and suggested that both sides promote more frequent visits and contacts at high and all levels; consider establishing bilateral cooperation mechanisms; continue to review and promote the signing of cooperation agreements, while emphasizing the need to promote connectivity between the two economies through promoting negotiations and signing of cooperation agreements on economics, trade, and investment to facilitate goods from both countries to access each other's markets.

Vietnam is ready to export goods that Bhutan needs and Vietnam has strengths in, such as food, consumer goods, construction materials, electronic products and components, and import goods from Bhutan to meet the needs of the two countries. The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides consider expanding security cooperation, combating cybercrime; promoting cooperation in potential areas such as spiritual tourism, organic agriculture, high quality, traditional medicine; and soon establishing direct flights to promote cultural exchange and people-to-people exchanges.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam wishes to promote cooperative relations with Bhutan , and suggested that the two sides promote more frequent visits and contacts at high and other levels - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

King Jigme expressed his pleasure at meeting the Prime Minister and thanked the Vietnamese leaders and people for the warm and respectful welcome they gave to the King and the high-ranking delegation of Bhutan. King Jigme highly appreciated Vietnam's endogenous strength in overcoming previous difficulties and challenges, as well as Vietnam's talented leadership, current orientations, strategies and development goals, especially maintaining a consistently high GDP growth rate; and said that Vietnam is one of the few countries in the world with a successful development model.

The King of Bhutan expressed that Bhutan considers Vietnam a reliable and important partner in the region, and is committed to promoting cooperation with Vietnam in the coming time - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The King of Bhutan expressed his agreement and gratitude for the Prime Minister's opinions on measures to promote bilateral relations, considering them very practical proposals for stronger cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

The King sincerely shared the philosophy and vision of Bhutan's leaders in developing his country; affirmed that as a small country, Bhutan has come up with its own development strategy, building the country with the goal of bringing happiness and prosperity to the people, protecting a clean environment, maintaining an independent position in the region and the world; Bhutan considers Vietnam a reliable and important partner in the region, and is committed to promoting cooperation with Vietnam in the coming time.

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides consider expanding security cooperation, combating cybercrime; and promoting cooperation in potential areas - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the King of Bhutan assessed that the two countries' cooperation still has much potential and room for growth. On that basis, they agreed to effectively exploit cooperation in all fields, soon bring the relationship to a new height, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions as well as in the world. They agreed that Vietnam and Bhutan need to continue to increase information exchange, coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums. Vietnam welcomes Bhutan to enhance practical cooperation with ASEAN as well as other regional cooperation mechanisms./.

Updated on August 19, 2025

Source: https://laichau.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/chuyen-de/tin-trong-nuoc/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-hoi-kien-quoc-vuong-bhutan.html