This marks the first foreign visit of the year for Vietnam’s top leader and holds significant importance in Vietnam-Indonesia relations.

On March 9, General Secretary To Lam and his spouse, Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, departed from Hanoi for a state visit to Indonesia and an official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat.

The visit is made at the invitation of Indonesian President and Chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Prabowo Subianto, as well as ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.

This marks General Secretary To Lam’s first international visit of 2025.

Accompanying him on the visit are General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member and Minister of National Defense; Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member and Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics; Nguyen Van Nen, Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; General Luong Tam Quang, Politburo member and Minister of Public Security;

Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chief of the Party Central Office; Tran Luu Quang, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee; Bui Thanh Son, Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nguyen Duc Hai, Central Committee member and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly; along with leaders from various ministries, central agencies, and local governments.

Also accompanying the delegation are the General Secretary’s assistants and Vietnamese ambassadors to Indonesia and ASEAN.

The visit carries historical significance in Vietnam-Indonesia relations, as General Secretary To Lam is the highest-ranking Vietnamese leader to visit Indonesia since the last visit by a Vietnamese General Secretary in 2017.

It also marks the beginning of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Vietnam-Indonesia diplomatic relations (December 30, 1955 - December 30, 2025).

Vietnam and Indonesia share a longstanding relationship. Seventy years ago, Indonesia became the first Southeast Asian country to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam.

The two nations elevated their relations to a Comprehensive Partnership in 2003 and further upgraded them to a Strategic Partnership in 2013. Notably, Vietnam remains Indonesia’s only Strategic Partner in Southeast Asia.

Over the past seven decades, despite regional and global fluctuations, Vietnam and Indonesia have consistently maintained strong ties as good friends and reliable partners.

In 2024, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and later, President-elect Prabowo Subianto both visited Vietnam. Additionally, President Luong Cuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the APEC Summit and G20 Summit.

Vietnam’s Communist Party has established formal relations with Indonesia’s major political parties, including the Functional Groups Party (Golkar) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Cooperation between localities has also been flourishing, with four pairs of provinces and cities forming sister-city relationships.

Indonesia is currently Vietnam’s second-largest trade partner within ASEAN, while Vietnam ranks as Indonesia’s fourth-largest trade partner in the region. Preliminary data from 2024 shows that bilateral trade reached $16.7 billion.

Indonesia presently has 123 active investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of $682 million. Vietnamese enterprises have also been increasingly investing in Indonesia in recent years.

Defense and security cooperation between the two countries continues to strengthen, contributing to regional peace and stability. Collaboration in education, culture, agriculture, energy, and judicial affairs has also been expanding.

The two nations share strategic interests and similar perspectives on regional and global issues, particularly within the ASEAN framework and on matters concerning the South China Sea.

Tran Thuong