Vietnam and Sri Lanka pledge to promote cooperation in a more open and innovative direction

President Luong Cuong and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka at a press conference on the morning of May 5. Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA

On the morning of May 5, President Luong Cuong hosted a state welcoming ceremony for President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka at the Presidential Palace, following the protocol reserved for heads of state. Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong and President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka led high-ranking delegations from both countries to hold talks. After the talks, the two leaders held a press conference to inform the press about the results of the talks.

Speaking at the press conference, President Luong Cuong expressed his delight at welcoming President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and the high-ranking delegation of Sri Lanka to Vietnam on a state visit, emphasizing that the visit is of great significance, marking the 55th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations and opening up new cooperation potentials to make the Vietnam-Sri Lanka relationship more substantive and effective in the coming time.

The President said that he and President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka had an effective and successful meeting in the spirit of openness, sincerity, and brotherly friendship; in which both sides reaffirmed the policy of valuing the long-standing traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries and committed to working together to develop cooperation in a more positive, open, and innovative direction, on the basis of common interests, making the best use of each side's potential and advantages.

The President highly appreciated the speech of President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, expressing the good sentiments of the State and people of Sri Lanka towards President Ho Chi Minh , the country and people of Vietnam, as well as the desire to bring the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka to new heights.

The President affirmed that the two sides agreed to increase contacts at high and all levels, through the channels of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly as well as people-to-people exchanges, continuously consolidate political trust between the two countries, aiming to bring the bilateral relationship to a new height in the future. The two sides also pledged to strengthen cooperation in areas such as peacekeeping, maritime security, prevention and combat of transnational crimes, and cooperation in responding to traditional and non-traditional security challenges, contributing to protecting the national security interests of each country, as well as contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Agreeing that Vietnam and Sri Lanka still have great potential in economic, trade and investment cooperation, the two sides pledged to implement stronger measures to increase two-way trade and investment turnover, aiming for a two-way trade turnover of 1 billion USD and consider the possibility of negotiating and signing a bilateral free trade agreement when conditions permit.

The President also said that he agreed with the President of Sri Lanka to continue prioritizing and expanding cooperation in other important areas such as agriculture, tourism, education, information and communication, cultural exchange, and Buddhism; agreed to encourage airlines of the two countries to open direct flights connecting the two countries, further increasing people-to-people exchange, economic cooperation, and tourism.

Along with that, the two sides also agreed to strengthen coordination and support each other more strongly at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace, stability, ensuring security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation, and peacefully resolving disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. At the same time, Vietnam welcomes and supports Sri Lanka to cooperate more strongly and practically with ASEAN.

The President firmly believes that the Vietnam-Sri Lanka relationship will develop more deeply and strongly, making an important contribution to the economic and social development of each country, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries, and contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

For his part, expressing his honor to make his first State visit to Vietnam, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka affirmed that this is an important milestone in consolidating the long-standing friendship and cooperation in all fields between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, a relationship built on the solid foundation of 55 years of diplomatic relations and centuries of shared cultural and religious exchanges.

Positively assessing the results of his talks with President Luong Cuong, President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said the two sides had agreed on a comprehensive roadmap to elevate Sri Lanka-Vietnam relations to new heights, including commitments to enhance political dialogue, deepen economic cooperation and enhance people-to-people connectivity.

Agreeing on the importance of promoting trade and investment relations, especially in the context of current global economic fluctuations, the Sri Lankan President affirmed that the two sides also agreed to promote business links, facilitate trade exchanges and review important agreements such as the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement; at the same time, the Sri Lankan side hopes that Vietnamese businesses will invest in areas such as agriculture, renewable energy, electronics, manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure, hospitals, pharmaceuticals and tourism - hotels.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka announced the meeting with General Secretary To Lam, as well as other key leaders of Vietnam, affirming that these meetings will certainly further consolidate the strong friendship between the two countries, which has developed into an important partnership spanning many essential areas of cooperation.

Hoai Nam (Vietnam News Agency)

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/viet-nam-va-sri-lanka-cam-ket-thuc-day-hop-tac-theo-huong-rong-mo-va-dot-pha-hon-20250505150358925.htm