President To Lam presides over official welcoming ceremony for President of Timor-Leste

At the invitation of President To Lam, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta arrived in Hanoi, starting a State visit to Vietnam from July 31 to August 3, 2024.

On the morning of August 1, at the Presidential Palace, President To Lam chaired the official welcoming ceremony for President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta on a state visit to Vietnam.

Attending the welcoming ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long; Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh; Deputy Minister of National Defense Le Huy Vinh; Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan; Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep; Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Duc Long; Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste Ta Van Thong.

Many children in the capital waved flags of both countries to welcome President José Ramos-Horta and the high-ranking delegation of Timor-Leste.

This is President José Ramos-Horta's second visit to Vietnam, taking place more than 14 years after his first visit to Vietnam in 2010; and is also the fourth visit to Vietnam by a senior leader of Timor-Leste.

The motorcade carrying President José Ramos-Horta entered the Presidential Palace. President To Lam warmly welcomed President José Ramos-Horta leading the Timor-Leste high-level delegation.

Amidst the welcoming music, President To Lam invited President José Ramos-Horta to step up to the podium. After listening to the national anthems of both countries, President To Lam and President José Ramos-Horta left the podium, walked forward to salute the military flag and inspect the Guard of Honor of the Vietnam People's Army.

Since Vietnam and Timor-Leste established diplomatic relations on July 28, 2002, the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries have made significant progress. Vietnam and Timor-Leste have always maintained a close relationship and supported each other in the international arena, especially in the struggle for national liberation. Leaders of the two countries have always maintained high-level contacts.

Multilaterally, the two sides have continued to strengthen cooperation and coordinate their positions at regional and international forums. Vietnam, together with ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat, have always supported Timor-Leste in the process of preparation and capacity building, creating favorable conditions to promote consensus among ASEAN members for Timor-Leste to join ASEAN.

Regarding trade, bilateral trade turnover between the two countries is still limited, mainly exporting rice and textiles. In 2023, Vietnam's exports to Timor-Leste reached 15.49 million USD; imports from Timor-Leste reached 371,000 USD. In the first 5 months of 2024, exports to Timor-Leste were 6.09 million USD, an increase of 29.4%.

Regarding investment, Viettel currently has a successful project in Timor-Leste called Telemor, with an initial investment of 500,000 USD, gradually increasing to 15 million USD, and has a solid position in this market. After 10 years of development, Telemor has contributed to changing the telecommunications industry in Timor-Leste, contributing to the development of this country.

Economic activities in Vietnam in the coming years will need more input items such as fuel (petrol), raw wood, raw seafood, minerals, metals... These are also potential products in Timor-Leste.

Cooperating with Vietnam, Timor-Leste's products will be important inputs for commodity production, helping both Timor-Leste and Vietnam participate more deeply in regional and global value chains.

The State visit to Vietnam by President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta is of great significance in consolidating political trust, and is also an opportunity for the two sides to continue discussing measures to promote cooperation, deepen bilateral relations, thereby tightening the traditional friendship that has been nurtured over the past time.

After the welcoming ceremony, the two leaders led high-ranking delegations from the two countries to hold talks, evaluate the results of cooperation between the two countries in recent times and propose directions for cooperation in the future.

The two leaders will also witness the signing ceremony and exchange cooperation documents.