General Secretary To Lam begins official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

At 7:05 a.m. on October 28 (local time), the plane carrying General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation landed at London Stansted Airport, beginning an official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the invitation of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Keir Starmer.

General Secretary To Lam and his wife arrive in London, beginning an official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (Photo: THONG NHAT/VNA)

Welcoming General Secretary To Lam and his wife and the high-ranking delegation at the airport, on the British side were Deputy Foreign Minister Seema Malhotra; British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew and Mr. Stephen Walton, Representative of the Protocol Department of the British Foreign Office.

On the Vietnamese side, there were Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Do Minh Hung and his wife, along with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK.

Ambassador Do Minh Hung and Mr. Stephen Walton, Representative of the Protocol Department of the British Foreign Office , boarded the plane to welcome General Secretary To Lam and his wife on their official visit to the UK. The General Secretary and his wife got off the plane and shook hands with British officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy.

Officials and staff of the Embassy and the Vietnamese community in the UK welcomed General Secretary To Lam and his wife at London Stansted Airport. (Photo: THONG NHAT/VNA)

Vietnam and the UK established diplomatic relations on September 11, 1973, and the UK was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The two countries signed a Joint Statement on the establishment of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership in September 2010. The two countries also signed the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which officially took effect on December 31, 2020.

Over the past half century, the friendship and solidarity between the people of the two countries have been constantly strengthened and developed. The official visit of General Secretary To Lam is not only an important foreign event, but also clearly demonstrates Vietnam's respect for its traditional Western European partners, including the UK, in its foreign policy and comprehensive international integration process.

The visit, taking place on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Strategic Partnership (2010-2025), is an important milestone for the two countries to look back on the past cooperation journey, evaluate outstanding achievements, and set out a new vision and development orientation for bilateral relations in the coming period.

HANH NGUYEN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-bat-dau-tham-chinh-thuc-vuong-quoc-anh-va-bac-ireland-post918677.html