General Secretary To Lam received the King and Queen of Bhutan at the Party's headquarters on 19/8. He praised Bhutan's development model, which emphasizes environmental protection, cultural heritage preservation, and the well-being of its citizens, making it one of the "happiest countries in the world". The General Secretary considered this a strategic and insightful development vision.
King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck emphasized that Bhutan considers Vietnam a top priority partner in Southeast Asia and wishes to enhance multifaceted cooperation and learn from Vietnam's experience.
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General Secretary To Lam and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan during their meeting on 19/8. Photo: Giang Huy |
General Secretary To Lam and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan during their meeting on 19/8. Photo: Giang Huy
Both sides highlighted the friendship and shared cultural values and development philosophies as crucial foundations for effectively leveraging each country's potential and strengths, and promoting extensive cooperation.
On the same day, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the King of Bhutan, commending Bhutan's steadfast pursuit of "Gross National Happiness". He described this philosophy as inspirational for the international community in its pursuit of harmonious, inclusive, and sustainable development.
The Prime Minister proposed that the two sides promote more frequent visits and exchanges, consider establishing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, continue reviewing and promoting the signing of cooperation agreements. He also emphasized the need to strengthen economic ties by promoting negotiations and signing agreements on economics, trade, and investment, facilitating market access for goods from both countries.
Vietnam is ready to export goods that Bhutan needs and Vietnam has strengths in, such as food, consumer goods, construction materials, electronics, and components, and to import goods from Bhutan.
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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the King of Bhutan during their meeting on 19/8. Photo: Giang Huy |
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the King of Bhutan during their meeting on 19/8. Photo: Giang Huy
The Prime Minister suggested exploring expanded cooperation in security and cybercrime prevention, promoting cooperation in potential areas such as spiritual tourism, high-quality organic agriculture, and traditional medicine, and establishing direct flights to foster cultural exchange and people-to-people connections.
The King shared the philosophy and vision of Bhutan's leaders in national development. He affirmed that as a small country, Bhutan has formulated its own development strategy, building the nation with the goal of bringing happiness and prosperity to its people, protecting the environment, and maintaining its independence regionally and globally. Bhutan considers Vietnam a reliable and important partner in the region and is committed to promoting cooperation with Vietnam in the future.
The two leaders acknowledged the significant potential for cooperation between their countries and agreed to effectively leverage this potential across all sectors to elevate the relationship to new heights.
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National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the King of Bhutan during their meeting on 19/8. Photo: Giang Huy |
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the King of Bhutan during their meeting on 19/8. Photo: Giang Huy
Also on 19/8, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with the King of Bhutan, emphasizing Vietnam's willingness to strengthen cooperation with Bhutan in sectors such as logistics, tourism, and high-tech agriculture.
Vietnam will encourage businesses from both countries to study each other's legal and policy frameworks and enhance connectivity to increase bilateral trade. The Vietnamese National Assembly is committed to creating favorable legal and policy conditions to support Bhutanese businesses' investment and operations in Vietnam.
The King and Queen of Bhutan are on a state visit to Vietnam from 18-22/8 at the invitation of President Luong Cuong and his wife. This is the first head-of-state visit between the two countries since establishing diplomatic relations.
Nguyen Tien
