Congratulating Kohdayar Marri on being appointed as Ambassador of Pakistan to Vietnam, President Lam considered the diplomat’s rich experience in the field of culture as a favourable condition for the two countries to promote cooperation in culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

He stated that Vietnam attaches importance to its relations with Pakistan, which holds an important geopolitical position in the Indo-Pacific region, and believes Pakistan will significantly contribute to regional peace and stability.

The host leader applauded the development of the bilateral friendship and multifaceted ties for the last over 50 years, asking the ambassador to work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies of Vietnam to further strengthen partnerships in economy, trade, science - technology, culture, tourism, and people-to-people ties.

Vietnam always encourages and is ready to provide favourable conditions for Pakistani businesses to invest in the Southeast Asian country, especially in the fields they are strong at such as information technology, textile - garment, tourism, and food processing, he said.

The President called on both sides to increase mutual visits and regularly hold bilateral cooperation mechanisms, helping to enhance mutual understanding and facilitate cooperation areas. He also asked for close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums.

Marri highly valued the sustained friendship and multifaceted ties between the two countries for more than 50 years, affirming the wish to further develop the bilateral relations.

The ambassador expressed his belief that during his term in Vietnam, existing potentials will be optimised to further promote partnerships in such areas as economy, culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

Pakistan wants to further reinforce connections with Southeast Asia and hopes that Vietnam will act as a bridge to help boost its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the time ahead, he added.

Receiving Mozambican Ambassador Ilundi Dos Santos, President Lam affirmed that Vietnam always treasures and wants to intensify the traditional friendship with Mozambique, one of its leading cooperative partners in Africa.

He highlighted the flourishing bilateral relations but also noted that there remains huge room for cooperation, so the two countries should step up all-level mutual visits, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

To bring cooperation to be on par with the big potential, the State leader asked the ambassador to coordinate with relevant agencies of Vietnam to foster friendship in all spheres, including politics, economy, culture, defence, security, and people-to-people diplomacy.

Vietnam is ready to help Mozambique to expand ties with ASEAN, he continued, calling on the latter to also act as a bridge to assist Vietnam to expand relations with other African countries.

As the two countries will celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, President Lam asked Santos to work with Vietnamese agencies to boost practical and meaningful activities marking this important event.

Sharing the President’s opinions, Santos said she hopes to receive assistance from the Government and relevant agencies of Vietnam so as to enhance the two countries’ friendship and cooperation in various areas more strongly.

At the reception for Timor-Leste Ambassador Joao Pereira, President Lam underlined Vietnam’s wish to maintain the sound cooperative relations with Timor-Leste, saying bilateral cooperation still has much room to grow and should be effectively tapped into in the coming time, including in such fields as agriculture, telecommunications, education, oil and gas.

Therefore, he suggested the ambassador coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other local agencies to further bolster bilateral linkages.

The President also asked both countries to continue implementing their reached agreements, complete signing new ones, and encourage their investors to carry out programmes and projects.

The Vietnamese leader added that he believed during his term, Pereira will help raise the two countries’ partnerships to a new height.

Besides, he also congratulated Timor-Leste on the in-principle approval of the country as the 11th member of ASEAN. He asked the two nations to work closely together within the framework of ASEAN along with regional and international forums.

Appreciating support from the Vietnamese Government and people, Pereira said Timor-Leste has benefited from rice imports from Vietnam as well as information technology cooperation, particularly the investment projects of Viettel that meet 90% of the mobile network demand of Timor-Leste people.

He also pledged close coordination with Vietnamese agencies to further promote the two countries’ relations.