With the determination and efforts of the leaders and peoples of both countries, the Viet Nam–Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership continues to deepen and develop in an increasingly substantive manner, becoming a model of development cooperation within ASEAN.
Viet Nam and Thailand share a long-standing friendship. During his journey abroad in search of a path to national liberation, President Ho Chi Minh once travelled to, resided, and engaged in revolutionary activities in several localities in Thailand. Memories of him have been cherished and preserved by the Vietnamese community in Thailand and Thai friends, becoming an important bond of friendship that has helped strengthen the close ties and deepen mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries. These sentiments have continued to be nurtured over the decades, becoming an important driving force and foundation for the positive development of bilateral cooperation across a wide range of areas, including politics and diplomacy, trade and investment, and tourism, yielding proud achievements.
Fifty years ago, in 1976, Viet Nam and Thailand officially established diplomatic relations. Following the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2025, relations between the two countries entered a new chapter, marked by increasingly effective and substantive development. Political trust between the two countries has continued to be strengthened through regular exchanges and high-level contacts.
During General Secretary and President To Lam’s official visit to Thailand with his spouse in May 2026, the two sides signed an action programme on the implementation of the comprehensive strategic partnership in the 2026–2031 period. Viet Nam and Thailand are working to effectively implement the programme, with a view to delivering tangible outcomes in such areas as defence, security, the economy, science and technology, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
In terms of trade, Thailand is Viet Nam’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. In 2025, two-way trade reached 22.1 billion USD, up 9% from 2024. Viet Nam–Thailand relations serve as a model of effective and dynamic cooperation in Southeast Asia. The two ASEAN member states share common interests in maintaining peace, stability, and cooperation in the region, and are committed to contributing to the sustainable development of the ASEAN “common home”.
The Vietnamese community in Thailand plays an important role in Viet Nam–Thailand relations, serving as a bridge of friendship between the peoples of the two countries. Numbering more than 100,000, Vietnamese people in Thailand live across the “Land of Smiles”, with the majority concentrated in the northeastern provinces. Living far from their homeland, they continue to carry with them a deep love for their country and pride in their roots.
The Vietnamese community in Thailand has a proud revolutionary and patriotic tradition, holds President Ho Chi Minh in high esteem, maintains close ties with the homeland, and has made significant contributions to the struggle for national liberation and reunification, as well as to national development. The community has earned an important position and reputation, making positive contributions to its host country while continuously strengthening the bonds of friendship and solidarity between the two peoples.
The 50-year journey of Viet Nam–Thailand relations, marked by deep ties between the peoples of the two countries and increasingly substantive, practical, and effective bilateral cooperation, provides a firm foundation for the two countries to write new and brighter chapters in the history of their bilateral relations, while also contributing to the promotion of peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
