Party General Secretary and State President To Lam is attending and delivering a keynote address at the Dialogue. As Asia’s leading security forum with significant prestige and influence on issues related to peace, security and the regional architecture, the Shangri-La Dialogue brings together numerous national leaders, defence ministers, scholars and leading strategic experts from around the world.
The invitation extended by the IISS for Party General Secretary and State President To Lam to deliver the keynote address reflects the international community’s high regard for Viet Nam’s role, standing and contributions to regional and global affairs.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong stated that Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue affirms Viet Nam’s increasingly important role, standing and contributions to peace, cooperation and development, particularly amid profound global changes.
It also reflects international interest in Viet Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, resilience, peace, friendship, cooperation and development.
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong, the speech will convey Viet Nam’s views and messages regarding approaches to addressing current strategic challenges. Singaporean Ambassador to Viet Nam Rajpal Singh said the speech would provide direction for future dialogues.
The Ambassador stressed that the Vietnamese top leader’s keynote address demonstrates Viet Nam’s readiness to take a more proactive role in addressing geopolitical and geo-economic instability.
Sharing the same view, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tran Phuoc Anh said the world is increasingly interested in hearing Viet Nam’s perspectives and approaches to regional and global security and defence issues.
He noted that this is an opportunity for Viet Nam to communicate its foreign policy and share its vision and approaches towards regional matters, particularly maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Dr Mohamed Effendy B Abdul Hamid, senior lecturer in Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said the invitation for General Secretary and President To Lam to deliver the keynote address reflects growing international attention to Viet Nam’s role.
He described it as a highly significant development, showing that Viet Nam is emerging as a key actor in regional and global issues, particularly in supply chains, maritime security and regional diplomacy.
According to him, the international community values Viet Nam’s stability and is keen to hear the country’s approach to current geopolitical challenges.
Professor Vu Minh Khuong of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore said Viet Nam’s presence and prominent role at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue represent a special milestone.
He noted that Viet Nam is emerging as a “comprehensive model”, not only because of its resilient history and successful renewal process, but also due to its ambition to become a technologically advanced nation and the distinct features of its foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the website iiss.org quoted IISS Chief Executive Dr Bastian Giegerich as saying that the invitation to the Vietnamese leader reflects a rapidly changing global environment and the Vietnamese leader’s commitment to engaging with leading defence policymakers.
The IISS said it was honoured that Party General Secretary and State President To Lam had chosen the Shangri-La Dialogue as the platform to share Viet Nam’s perspectives as an emerging strategic actor.
Russia’s Sputnik news agency cited international security experts as saying that Vietnamese top leader To Lam’s keynote address demonstrates Viet Nam’s increasingly proactive role in the regional security architecture. Viet Nam is no longer seen merely as a “participant”, but as a shaping actor pursuing a “dynamic balancing” approach based on international law and non-alignment.
The website asiatimes.com commented that the Party General Secretary and State President To Lam becoming the first senior Vietnamese leader to speak at the Shangri-La Dialogue reflects Viet Nam’s growing standing in the regional security architecture.
The US-based website forth.news and Malaysia’s The Star newspaper described the speech as “historic”, marking the first time a senior leader of the Communist Party of Viet Nam has spoken at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Meanwhile, according to fulcrum.sg, the Vietnamese leader’s speech has attracted particular attention because it not only shapes Viet Nam’s foreign policy messaging, but also directly reflects the leadership’s vision and the country’s development orientation.
The speech is expected to convey several key messages. It will portray an image of a transforming Viet Nam that is politically stable, reform-oriented and led by a leadership with strategic vision and decisive governance capacity to realise national aspirations. The speech is also expected to reaffirm Viet Nam’s commitment to an independent, self-reliant, resilient, peaceful and friendly foreign policy, as well as its identity as an active and responsible member of the international community. It will further underscore Viet Nam’s commitment to making greater contributions to peace, security and sustainable development in the region.
