The meeting brought together Hugo Guzmán Rambaldi, Director of El Siglo—the official publication of the Communist Party of Chile published continuously since 1940; Javier Pineda Olcay, Director of El Ciudadano, and Andrés Almeida Farga, Editor-in-Chief of investigative outlet Interferencia.
Ambassador Nguyen Viet Cuong recalled the historic meeting in May 1969 in Ha Noi between President Ho Chi Minh and Chilean Senate President Salvador Allende—Ho Chi Minh’s final reception of an international guest. Two years later, the two countries formally established diplomatic relations on March 25, 1971, with artist and political activist María Maluenda appointed as Chile’s first diplomatic representative to Viet Nam.
Since then, bilateral ties have expanded steadily. In 2007, relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Partnership. In 2011, Chile became the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with Viet Nam. Bilateral trade reached nearly 1.8 billion USD in 2024. During President Luong Cuong’s official visit to Chile in November 2024, the two sides signed several new cooperation agreements.
Ambassador Cuong also highlighted the outcomes of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (January 19–23), which set a goal for Viet Nam to become a modern industrialised, upper-middle-income country by 2030, while maintaining an independent, self-reliant and diversified foreign policy with deep international integration.
Noting the complementary nature of the two economies—Chile’s strengths in minerals and renewable energy and Viet Nam’s in industrial manufacturing—he said this provided a solid foundation for expanded cooperation.
Journalists expressed strong interest in Viet Nam’s post-Doi moi (Renewal) development model and sought greater access to stories about Vietnamese life, culture and tourism, topics expected to resonate with Chilean readers. The Embassy pledged to enhance engagement with Chilean media in the coming period.
