At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul and his spouse, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam To Lam and his spouse, together with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, will pay an official visit to Thailand from May 27 to 29, 2026.

This is General Secretary and President To Lam’s first visit to an ASEAN country in his new position. Taking place as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the visit marks an important milestone in bilateral ties. It offers an opportunity for the top leaders of the two countries to review the achievements recorded over the past half-century, while creating new momentum and fresh impetus to elevate cooperation to a higher, more effective, and deeper level, serving the common interests of the two peoples and contributing to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

It can be affirmed that, with the foundation of fine friendship, high political trust, and vast potential for cooperation, this visit will generate new momentum to further advance Viet Nam–Thailand relations, bringing them to new heights in the coming period.

LONG-STANDING FRIENDSHIP

The Thai people hold President Ho Chi Minh in great esteem, as he spent time in Thailand during his overseas travels in search of a path to national liberation.

In a recent article entitled “From the Foundations of Ho Chi Minh’s Legacy to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, the Thai newspaper The Nation emphasised that President Ho Chi Minh’s humanistic legacy has served as an important foundation for building and deepening the friendship between the two peoples.

Although his time in Thailand was brief, he left a lasting impression that both the Vietnamese diaspora in Thailand and the Thai people continue to hold in deep respect and admiration.

Building on President Ho Chi Minh’s historic legacy, successive generations of leaders and people in both countries have continued to honour cherished traditions and work together to nurture and strengthen the friendship between the two nations.

In recent years, people-to-people exchanges have consistently played a vital role, serving as a key foundation for fostering friendship between the two countries.

People-to-people exchanges between Viet Nam and Thailand have helped enhance mutual understanding and deepen ties between the two countries’ citizens, delivering tangible benefits to both sides and further strengthening their longstanding bonds of friendship and good-neighbourliness.

Cooperation in tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges has flourished in recent years. In 2025, more than 660,300 Vietnamese tourists visited Thailand, while nearly 458,000 Thai visitors travelled to Viet Nam. Thailand is also promoting a tourism cooperation initiative called “Six Countries, One Destination.” Currently, 20 Vietnamese provinces and cities have signed cooperation or twinning agreements with Thai localities.

The Thai government has supported Vietnamese universities in teaching the Thai language, including Viet Nam National University – Ha Noi (University of Languages and International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ha Noi University), Viet Nam National University – Ho Chi Minh City (University of Social Sciences and Humanities), and the University of Da Nang. Thailand also provides numerous long-term and short-term scholarships to train Vietnamese students and lecturers in Thai language studies in Thailand.

There are currently more than 100,000 Overseas Vietnamese in Thailand, living across the country but concentrated mainly in the northeastern provinces. The number of Vietnamese international students and researchers studying in Thailand ranges from around 2,000 to 3,000. The Thai government has recognised the legal status of the Overseas Vietnamese community in residence and employment.

In some localities, Overseas Vietnamese hold certain roles, positions and prestige within society. The community in Thailand has a revolutionary and patriotic tradition, honours President Ho Chi Minh, remains deeply connected to the motherland, and has made significant contributions to the struggle for national liberation, reunification and national development.

THE FRUITS OF BILATERAL COOPERATION

Thailand is one of Viet Nam’s close neighbours and, like Viet Nam, a member of the ASEAN community. Thailand attaches great importance to consolidating and developing friendly cooperative relations with Viet Nam.

It can be said that today’s relationship between Viet Nam and Thailand is expanding across all fields, in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework officially established in May 2025.

In recent times, the two sides have regularly carried out high-level exchanges. According to Ambassador Pham Viet Hung, the two countries have up to 10 cooperation and dialogue mechanisms across all fields, including diplomacy, defence, security, and other areas of economic cooperation. The two countries also have more than 20 pairs of localities maintaining cooperative relationships through Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs).

The economy remains a prominent bright spot in bilateral relations. Thailand is currently Viet Nam’s largest trading partner within ASEAN. In 2025, total bilateral trade turnover reached 22.1 billion USD, up 9% compared with 2024. In the first four months of 2026, total bilateral trade turnover reached nearly 8.6 billion USD, an increase of 24% compared with the same period in 2025. Viet Nam’s major export items include telephones, computers, electronic products, and components; machinery, equipment, vehicles, and spare parts; chemical products; iron and steel, crude oil, textiles and garments, fruit and vegetables, and seafood. Major import items from Thailand include computers, electronic products, and components; completely built-up automobiles; household electrical appliances and components; machinery, equipment, and spare parts; automobile parts and accessories; plastic materials, metals, and chemicals.

Regarding investment, Thailand currently has 797 valid investment projects in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of 15.4 billion USD, ranking eighth among countries investing in Viet Nam and second among ASEAN countries investing in Viet Nam. Thai investors mainly invest in processing and manufacturing industries, production, wind power, petrochemicals, real estate business, and wholesale and retail. Viet Nam currently has more than 20 valid investment projects in Thailand with a total registered capital of approximately 40 million USD. These projects are mainly in processing and manufacturing industries, real estate business, and wholesale and retail sectors.

Both sides are promoting the building of specific contents to implement the “Three Connections” Strategy, namely: supply chain connectivity; connectivity between businesses and localities of the two countries; and connectivity between sustainable growth strategies.

In defence and security cooperation, the two sides have effectively maintained bilateral mechanisms (the High-Level Dialogue on Crime Prevention and Security Cooperation, and the Defence Policy Dialogue); coordinate in combating transnational crime, training, and air force and naval cooperation and maintain joint patrols at sea.

In the labour sector, the two sides are promoting the signing of a new Labour Recruitment Agreement, replacing the agreement signed in 2015, in order to create a mechanism for low-skilled Vietnamese workers to be recruited for employment in Thailand.

 According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung, during General Secretary and State President To Lam’s upcoming official visit to Thailand, he will hold meetings and talks with Thailand’s top leaders. These engagements are of great significance in strengthening mutual understanding and trust between the senior leaders of the two countries, thereby creating a solid foundation for agencies and people of both nations to further promote cooperation and exchanges in the future. The visit will also provide an opportunity for Vietnamese and Thai businesses to meet, exchange, and explore opportunities to enhance cooperation in investment, trade, and other economic sectors.

 General Secretary and State President To Lam’s official visit to Thailand carries special significance. It is his first visit to an ASEAN country in his new position and takes place shortly after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The visit first and foremost reflects Viet Nam’s high regard for its relations with Thailand, as well as for the Southeast Asian region. It also provides an opportunity for the two countries’ senior leaders to hold in-depth discussions on major orientations for the effective implementation of the new cooperation framework, thereby creating fresh momentum for bilateral relations in the time ahead.