The Thai Embassy in Viet Nam teamed up with the Viet Nam-Thailand Friendship Association (VTFA) and Nghe An provincial authorities on August 10 to host a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations.
Chairman of the Nghe An provincial People's Committee Vo Trong Hai said cooperation between the province and Thailand has delivered concrete results since the two countries elevated ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2025, with two-way trade now standing at roughly 100 million USD.
Thai businesses are operating nine foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Nghe An, with a total registered capital topping 241 million USD. The projects target industrial park infrastructure, supporting industries, food processing, electronic component manufacturing, and other high-value-added sectors.
Cultural, educational, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges are increasingly vibrant. About 5,000 Nghe An natives live in Thailand, maintaining close ties with their homeland and contributing to its development.
Nghe An has committed to keeping a transparent business environment and expanding cooperation with Thailand in areas like industry, high-tech agriculture, energy, logistics, trade, tourism, and science and technology, helping to strengthen the friendship between the two sides, he said.
VTFA Chairman Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Thanh said Viet Nam and Thailand have made strides across multiple fields over the past five decades. The two sides have sustained high-level exchanges, fostered political trust, and coordinated effectively at global and regional mechanisms. Thailand remains one of Viet Nam’s top trade and investment partners in ASEAN, and cooperation among localities, businesses, schools, social organisations and communities has expanded markedly.
Amid the fourth industrial revolution, the two sides should widen links among provinces, enterprises, scientists, universities, and social organisations while driving cooperation in sci-tech, digital transformation, green economy, innovation, and sustainable development, Thanh said.
The immediate goal, he added, is to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, strengthen people-to-people connectivity, economic collaboration, and sustainable development, thus making real contributions to a united, resilient, and prosperous ASEAN Community as well as to peace and stability in the region and the world.
Thai Ambassador to Viet Nam Urawadee Sriphiromya declared that after 50 years, the Thailand-Viet Nam relationship has bloomed. The year 2026 has already delivered a series of major diplomatic activities, including high-level visits, injecting new momentum into bilateral ties.
Those ties have been cultivated not only at the government level but also through people-to-people exchanges, the Thai-Vietnamese community, cultural cooperation, and business activities, she said.
The association will expand connectivity and advance ties, reinforcing local economic links and opening more opportunities for small and medium-sized and community-based enterprises to connect, expand market access, and grow together.
The VFTA will also push digital transformation and artificial intelligence, treating technology as a critical tool to boost the capacity of people, enterprises, and grassroots economies and help both countries adapt to rapid changes in the global economy, she added.
President of the Thailand-Viet Nam Friendship Association Sanan Angubolkul said the “Growing Together” motto aims to lift the relationship from a trade partnership to deep, broad cooperation and people-centred sustainable development, contributing to peace, security and prosperity in the Mekong subregion, ASEAN and beyond.
During the ceremony, the VTFA and the Vietnamese embassy jointly released a book chronicling 50 years of Viet Nam-Thailand cooperation for shared development.
Hai also presented certificates of merit to one organisation and two individuals for their outstanding contributions to people-to-people diplomacy.
