Talks with General Secretary of Central Committee of Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam

The meeting between Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam took place at the Palace of Independence on 12 May.

The negotiations were preceded by an official welcome ceremony involving the performance of the state anthems of both countries and the participation of an honor guard company.

The talks at the Palace of Independence were held one-on-one and also with the participation of the delegations. The parties discussed the development of strategic cooperation between Belarus and Vietnam in key areas of economy, politics and humanitarian affairs.

“I am glad to welcome you in Belarus. We consider you our friend. This is not the first time you are in Belarus. This is your fourth visit here. First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your new post [To Lam’s election as Secretary General last year], a very responsible job by the standards of Vietnam,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said during the one-on-one meeting.

"I want to assure you that our relations will only improve. The agreements we will reach with Vietnam will be honored fully. We are committed to pursuing a strategic partnership between Belarus and Vietnam as we have agreed," the Belarusian leader stated. "We share a long history of relations, an impressive history of our joint struggle in Vietnam for the independence of your state and people. We have been observing the development of Vietnam after that terrible war. We are happy about your achievements and ready to cooperate to make these successes even more significant."

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024, the parties reached an agreement to draft a joint action plan (roadmap) to develop cooperation. "In Kazan, we proposed to the Vietnamese side a joint action plan for the near future: 2025-2027. I believe we will do our utmost to implement the goals outlined in this roadmap," the President said.

"Certainly, we have issues on the agenda that need to be addressed promptly. I think we will discuss them, and if we reach joint decisions, we will implement them in the near future, be it mutual payments between the two countries or air service and everything related to it. These are the matters important for the economy," Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

"We would like to partner with you to set up joint facilities to manufacture the equipment that Vietnam is interested," the head of state said.

"We are ready for mutual deliveries of our goods [to Vietnam] and Vietnamese goods to Belarus. I think we don't need to make much effort to increase these volumes, because we already have the experience," the Belarusian leader added.

"Today we can openly say that we had intensive defense cooperation and supplied armaments to Vietnam. We are ready to resume this cooperation if you are interested," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also invited Vietnamese partners to visit the MILEX 2025 exhibition, which will soon take place in Minsk.

During the meeting with the participation of the delegations the head of state said that Belarus and Vietnam have been preserving their historical memory and this is the only right way.

"We welcome you here as a friend of the Belarusian people. You have brought an authoritative delegation that includes the entire party leadership, the regional leadership, more than a dozen heads of ministries and agencies, leading mass media, representatives of industrial and scientific communities. You, Comrade To Lam, are a great friend of Belarus; you have visited us many times and know our country well. We are closely following the development of Vietnam, the reforms being carried out. We see the successes under the wise leadership of the Communist Party, which celebrated its 95th anniversary this year," the head of state said.

With a sense of deep respect, he congratulated the Vietnamese friends on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam and the reunification of the country. Belarusian MPs took part in recent celebrations on this occasion in Ho Chi Minh City, and women's associations organized a photo exhibition "Beauty and Heroism of Women of Belarus and Vietnam".

"This once again shows that you, dear comrade To Lam, and I think in the same categories and follow the same, the only right way of preserving historical memory. As you just said, the historical memory, the history of our relations is very long. This approach is focused on the continuity of generations and ensures creative development of the modern society and predetermines the future of our states," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.