The close friends in the beautiful island nation joyfully welcomed General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-level Vietnamese delegation in the bright sunshine, accompanied by warm and lively dances that highlighted the unique features of their rich traditional costumes.
Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1970, General Secretary and President To Lam’s visit was the highest-level visit by a Vietnamese leader to Sri Lanka, carrying a special diplomatic message – Viet Nam’s respect for Sri Lanka and the South Asian region.
As two traditional friends with long-standing friendly relations, Viet Nam and Sri Lanka have shared high political trust, similarities, and close ties in national development perspectives. They have cooperated very well in many areas and share cultural and Buddhist values. Beloved President Ho Chi Minh visited Sri Lanka three times during his revolutionary journey.
Perhaps the Sri Lankan people found in Ho Chi Minh Thought a resonance with their aspirations for an independent, peaceful, and stable country where the people enjoy a better life, hence their deep respect and affection for him.
The two countries helped and supported each other during the fight for national liberation and reunification. The leaders and people of Sri Lanka, especially those who supported Viet Nam during the resistance war, always hold Viet Nam in high regard and respect. This visit, taking place as Sri Lanka is emerging from a crisis and striving for national recovery and development, demonstrated Viet Nam’s concern, solidarity, and commitment to its traditional friends.
General Secretary and President To Lam emphasised: “From Ha Noi to Colombo, from the East Sea to the Indian Ocean, we share a common belief: peace is the foundation, the people are the centre, development is the goal, and friendship is the most enduring bridge connecting our two nations.”
A highlight of this visit was General Secretary and President To Lam’s important speech before the Sri Lankan Parliament, proposing that the two parliaments strengthen the exchange of experiences on legislation, oversight, administrative reform, digital transformation in parliamentary activities, and the development of laws serving sustainable development…
Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya respectfully thanked General Secretary and President To Lam for choosing Sri Lanka as the first foreign country to deliver a speech before the Parliament and affirmed that this is a strong symbol of friendship and solidarity.
Currently, the Sri Lankan government considers Viet Nam a model of successful economic development and international integration to emulate. Through recent high-level contacts, both sides agree that this is a favorable time to further boost bilateral relations.
During his visit to Viet Nam in 2025, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed admiration for Viet Nam’s indomitable fighting spirit in defending its homeland and in nation-building. He was particularly impressed with Viet Nam’s development and expressed a desire to learn from its experience.
Sri Lanka has recognised Viet Nam as having a fully-fledged market economy. Annual bilateral trade volume reached approximately 200 million USD, primarily consisting of Vietnamese goods exported to Sri Lanka, including seafood, pepper, chemical products, raw plastics, rubber, various textile fibers, garments, computers, electronic products, telephones and components, etc.
In 2021, bilateral trade volume increased sharply, reaching 460.49 million USD, with Viet Nam’s exports to Sri Lanka reaching 397.83 million USD, a 59% increase compared to 2020.
The two countries have regularly coordinated with each other in regional and international multilateral mechanisms and forums; expanding cooperation in many fields. Areas such as finance, agriculture, education, transportation, culture, tourism, religion, and people-to-people exchanges have significant potential and are being maintained and promoted. Cultural cooperation, Buddhist relations, and people-to-people exchanges are increasingly developing, becoming pillars in the bilateral relationship.
Although the visit was brief, the delegation’s schedule was rich and insightful, strongly evoking the positive values of the traditional friendship, sharing visions for the region and the world, and agreeing on directions to create a solid foundation for strong future endeavors. The expectations of the two sides before the visit were discussed and agreed upon by the leaders, yielding positive results.
The two sides hoped that the visit will open up significant opportunities for bilateral cooperation, supporting Sri Lanka’s industrialisation process and expanding its international market. In particular, they wish to learn from Viet Nam’s experience in manufacturing and export; and to cooperate more extensively in areas such as agricultural modernization and tourism.
Viet Nam’s strong industrial base and technological development will contribute to supporting Sri Lanka in introducing new technologies into small and medium-sized enterprises; cooperation and experience sharing in areas such as the digital economy and information technology will open up more opportunities for Sri Lankan youth to participate in the global labor market.
Meanwhile, with its strategic location, guarding a vital maritime route in the Indian Ocean, strengthening relations with Sri Lanka will open up opportunities for economic cooperation, increase Viet Nam’s exports and investments, and consolidate supply chains in several areas where both sides have strengths. General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that the high-level talks were very successful.
The agreement between the two sides to upgrade relations to a Comprehensive Partnership is an important milestone, opening up a new, more comprehensive, substantive, and effective space for cooperation between the two countries.
Under this new framework, both sides are better positioned to deepen cooperation in politics, defence and security, economics, trade, investment, agriculture, education, culture, tourism, science and technology, digital transformation, and multilateral coordination. Both sides aimed to increase bilateral trade to 1 billion USD in the near future.
The General Secretary and President emphasised that this is not just a number, but a symbol of new confidence, new momentum, and new opportunities for cooperation between the business communities of the two countries. Economic cooperation between Viet Nam and Sri Lanka still has much room for growth. The two countries have complementary markets, products, geographical locations, and capabilities.
Viet Nam can be a bridge for Sri Lanka to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN and Southeast Asia, and Sri Lanka can be an important bridge for Viet Nam to expand cooperation with South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Viet Nam is ready to supply the Sri Lankan market with products in which it has strengths and needs, such as food, agricultural machinery, etc.
Sri Lanka will facilitate and offer preferential policies for Vietnamese businesses to invest and operate there. The visit aimed to promote cooperation in high-tech agriculture, climate change adaptation, sharing experiences in developing key agricultural products, and implementing mutually beneficial research and technology transfer projects between the two countries.
Viet Nam and Sri Lanka share many favourable conditions for developing cultural tourism, Buddhist tourism, heritage tourism, beach tourism, and ecotourism. During the visit, General Secretary and President To Lam attended the Sri Lanka-Viet Nam Trade, Investment and Tourism Forum; he welcomed Viet Nam Airlines and VietJet Air for opening direct flights between the two countries on this occasion, which will be a breakthrough in connectivity, creating favourable conditions to strengthen cooperation in many fields, especially contributing to expanding cooperation in culture, education, religion, people-to-people exchanges, and creating a strong connection between the two countries in terms of culture, history, and people.
The high-level Vietnamese delegation departed Colombo for Ha Noi, concluding a very productive day of visits and work. The results of the visit left a profound mark on Viet Nam-Sri Lanka relations, clearly affirming what General Secretary and President To Lam shared: Today, Viet Nam wishes to transform traditional friendship into a real driving force for development, political trust into concrete economic cooperation, cultural exchange into deep understanding, and shared aspirations into practical projects, programs, and benefits for the people of both countries.
