This is the first visit to Vietnam by the Philippine leader since taking office in 2022. This also marks the first visit of a Philippine President to Vietnam in the past seven years.
Vietnam and the Philippines established diplomatic relations on July 12, 1976, and upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2015. The upgrade of the bilateral relationship has opened a new period for the two sides to strengthen cooperation on both bilateral and multilateral levels.
Vietnam-Philippines relations have continuously developed and achieved fruitful results in all fields.
Political cooperation between the two countries has been strengthened. The two sides have maintained regular exchanges of delegations and high-level meetings.
Bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been effectively promoted, contributing to boosting cooperation in specific fields.
The two sides have actively accelerated the Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Strategic Partnership for 2019-2024 period and the agreement reached at the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Philippines’ Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation.
Bilateral economic cooperation has developed positively. The two-way trade reached 7.8 billion USD in 2022, an increase of 12% against 2021. By the end of November 2023, bilateral trade turnover was estimated at 7.1 billion USD.
The Philippines is currently Vietnam’s 16th largest trading partner in the world and the sixth largest in ASEAN. The country is also Vietnam's largest rice importer. In the first 11 months of 2023, Vietnam exported 2.63 million tons of rice to the Philippines, equivalent to 1.41 billion USD.
The Philippines has invested in 92 valid projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of about 608 million USD.
Regarding defence and security cooperation, the two sides have proactively implemented the signed agreements. They agreed to expand collaboration in defence industry, search and rescue operations, humanitarian aid, and natural disaster response.
Their cooperation in sea and ocean-related areas has also been strengthened.
The two sides have actively implemented agreements and cooperation programmes in other important fields, such as education-training, labour, and culture, and are negotiating towards the signing of cooperation documents in the coming time.
Bilateral cooperation in tourism has been positively recovered after being affected by the pandemic. In the first nine months of 2023, Vietnam welcomed nearly 130,000 Filipino visitors, while the Philippines greeted around 52,000 Vietnamese tourists, equivalent to the figure of 2019.
In regional and international issues, the two sides maintain close coordination and support each other at many multilateral organisations and forums, such as the United Nations, ASEAN, and APEC.
Vietnam and the Philippines have maintained their consultation and mutual coordination, contributing to strengthening solidarity and ensuring the central role of ASEAN.
Taking place in the context of when the bilateral strategic partnership is witnessing strong development, the state visit to Vietnam by the Philippine President and his spouse contributes to strengthening political trust and cooperation between two countries in all aspects.
It also offers an opportunity for the two sides to promote new scopes of cooperation, such as digital economy, green economy, marine economy, renewable energy, science and technology, environmental and marine ecosystem protection, and climate change adaptation.
Welcoming Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in his new position, Vietnam affirms its consistent policy of attaching importance to relations with ASEAN member countries, including the Philippines.
May the State visit to Vietnam by the Philippines President and his spouse a great success, further promoting the bilateral strategic partnership to develop in a more substantive and effective manner and bringing practical benefits to the peoples of the two countries while contributing to peace, stability, and development in the region.
