Top leader To Lam begins state visit to Ireland
Dublin (VNA) – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam landed at Dublin Airport at 8:30 pm on October 1 (local time), beginning a state visit to Ireland at the invitation of Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
The Vietnamese delegation was welcomed at the airport by Irish Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Food & the Marine Pippa Hackett, Chief of Protocol at the Department of Foreign Affairs Eamonn McKee, Mayor of Fingal Dublin Brian McDonagh, Ambassador to Vietnam Deirdre Ní Fhallúin, Vietnamese Ambassador to Ireland Do Minh Hung and his spouse, along with several staff members from the Vietnamese Embassy.
This is the first state visit since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1996. Ireland shares several similarities with Vietnam, particularly in terms of history, patriotism, resilience, and rich and unique culture. Room remains tremendous for their enhanced cooperation for mutual development.
During the visit, the two countries' leaders are expected to discuss measures to step up collaboration across various areas where Vietnam has needs and Ireland holds strengths, including high-quality investment, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, energy transition, and education, especially higher education.
Ireland is now Vietnam's sixth largest trading partner among EU members, with two-way trade reaching 3.5 billion USD in 2023 and 2.73 billion USD in the first seven months of 2024.
Regarding investment, Ireland is investing in 41 projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 44.32 million USD, ranking 61st out of 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam./.
VNA