General Secretary and President To Lam visits Mongolia, Ireland, France

General Secretary and President To Lam's working trip took place from September 30 to October 7 at the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Irish President Michael D. Higgins and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The delegation included: Politburo member, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Bui Thi Minh Hoai; Party Central Committee Secretary, Chief of the Party Central Committee Office Nguyen Duy Ngoc; Party Central Committee Secretary, Head of the Party Central Committee's External Relations Commission Le Hoai Trung; Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Head of the Party Central Committee's Mass Mobilization Commission Mai Van Chinh; Head of the President's Office Le Khanh Hai; Head of the National Assembly's Social Committee Nguyen Thuy Anh (Chairwoman of the Vietnam sub-committee at the Francophone Parliamentary Alliance APF, President of the Vietnam - France Friendship and Cooperation Association); Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang; Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan; Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh; Deputy Minister of National Defense Pham Hoai Nam; Mr. To An Xo, Assistant to the General Secretary and Head of the General Secretary's Office.

Also present were Vietnamese Ambassador to Mongolia Nguyen Tuan Thanh; Vietnamese Ambassador to Ireland Do Minh Hung; Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang.

The working trip of the General Secretary and President aims to reaffirm the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, proactiveness and active, comprehensive and extensive international integration.

At the same time, it also shows the high regard of the Party and State of Vietnam for the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Mongolia, the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Ireland, and the strategic partnership between Vietnam and France.

For Mongolia, this visit takes place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating 70 years of establishing diplomatic relations.

General Secretary and President To Lam will discuss with senior Mongolian leaders major orientations and important measures to further strengthen political trust as well as enhance cooperation in many priority areas, especially politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, tourism and people-to-people exchange between the two countries.

For Ireland, this is the first State visit since the two countries established diplomatic relations (in 1996). The visit is expected to contribute to enhancing political trust and consolidating the Vietnam-Ireland friendship, while promoting cooperation in many fields.

The two sides' senior leaders will discuss measures to promote extensive cooperation in many areas where Vietnam has demand and Ireland has strengths, such as: high-quality investment, science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, energy transformation, education and training, especially higher education.

This is the first time the General Secretary and President will attend the Francophone Summit. The General Secretary and President will deliver an important speech at the conference, contributing to spreading the message of a proactive, positive, responsible Vietnam that is always ready to join hands with the international community to respond to challenges.

For France, the visit takes place when the two countries' Strategic Partnership has gone through more than 10 years. Leaders of the two sides will discuss measures to bring the Strategic Partnership to a new level, increasingly in-depth, practical, commensurate with the potential and position of the two countries.

The two sides will discuss ways to enhance trade and investment cooperation; promote traditional cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, and cooperation between localities; and expand into new, potential fields such as aerospace, renewable energy, high technology, digital economy, etc.