President Luong Cuong presides over official welcoming ceremony for Brazilian President

At the invitation of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Hanoi, beginning a State visit to Vietnam from March 27-29.

On the morning of March 28, at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong chaired the state welcoming ceremony for President Lula da Silva.

Attending the welcoming ceremony were: Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy; Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh; Deputy Minister of National Defense Pham Hoai Nam; Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy; Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Van Tuyen; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet; Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang; Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong; Assistant to the President Tong Thanh Tri; Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi.

On the side of the Diplomatic Corps, there were Ambassadors/Charges General of Latin American and Caribbean countries in Hanoi.

Many children of the capital were present at the Presidential Palace waving the flags of both countries to welcome President Lula da Silva and the Brazilian high-ranking delegation.

This is Mr. Lula da Silva's second visit to Vietnam after 17 years since his visit in 2008. President Lula da Silva has deep affection and admiration for Vietnam, and once took to the streets to support Vietnam in the struggle for national liberation.

This visit to Vietnam by President Lula da Silva is also the first State visit by a foreign head of state to Vietnam in 2025, demonstrating Vietnam's respect for the Brazilian President and the Vietnam-Brazil relationship.

The motorcade escorting President Lula da Silva entered the Presidential Palace. President Luong Cuong was present on the red carpet to warmly welcome President Lula da Silva, who led the Brazilian high-ranking delegation on a state visit to Vietnam. Representatives of the capital's children came forward to present President Lula da Silva with a bouquet of fresh flowers.

Hanoi children welcome Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

To the sound of welcoming music, President Luong Cuong and the President of Brazil walked down the red carpet and onto the podium.

After listening to the national anthems of the two countries, President Luong Cuong and President Lula da Silva left the podium, bowed to the military flag and inspected the Guard of Honor of the Vietnam People's Army. Next, the two leaders introduced the members of the high-ranking delegations of the two countries attending the welcoming ceremony.

President Lula da Silva's visit to Vietnam this time is a new milestone of extremely important significance in the relationship between the two countries, in line with Vietnam's foreign policy, contributing to concretizing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the project "Developing relations between Vietnam and Latin American countries in the 2022-2026 period," promoting the implementation of international commitments and concretizing new cooperation frameworks, while affirming Vietnam's determination to strengthen cooperation with important partners in the Latin American region, especially Brazil.

The visit demonstrates the continuous development in relations between the two countries, as well as the commitment of both sides to agree on measures to effectively implement the framework of the Vietnam-Brazil Strategic Partnership, promoting practical cooperation in fields such as politics-security, economics-trade-investment, science-technology-innovation, culture-society and climate change to a new height.

The visit is also an opportunity for leaders of both sides to discuss and reach an agreement on concretizing the content of the Strategic Partnership, realizing political commitments through practical and effective cooperation programs, bringing benefits to both sides. This is also a major turning point for Vietnam in promoting cooperation with a country with the largest economy and a pivotal and leading role in South America.

Regarding economic and trade cooperation, Brazil is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America, while Vietnam is also an important partner of Brazil in Southeast Asia.

In recent years, bilateral trade relations between Vietnam and Brazil have increased rapidly, from 1.53 billion USD in 2011 to 7.98 billion USD in 2024, and the two countries are striving to increase bilateral turnover to 10 billion USD in 2025 and 15 billion USD in 2030.

In addition, the two sides have the potential to enhance cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy, science and technology, security and defense, environmental protection and climate change response. Vietnam also hopes to soon start FTA negotiations with MERCOSUR, of which Brazil is a member.

President of the Federal Republic of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva laid a wreath and visited President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. (Photo: Pham Kien/VNA)

In addition to agreements on economic and trade cooperation, the visit also opens up opportunities for the two countries to exchange experiences and cooperate in other potential areas such as tourism, aviation, seaports and logistics. These are areas in which both countries have great potential but have not yet fully exploited, promoting cooperation in these areas will contribute to creating stronger development in bilateral relations.

Building on the foundation of a good relationship over the past 35 years, Brazilian President Lula da Silva's State visit to Vietnam contributed to bringing the Vietnam-Brazil bilateral relationship to a new height, strengthening political commitment and trust, opening up a wider space for cooperation, developing the relationship comprehensively, deeply, sustainably, and bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries.

After the welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong and President Lula da Silva led the high-ranking delegations of the two countries to hold talks, assessing the results of cooperation between the two countries in the past and proposing directions for future cooperation. The two leaders will also witness the signing of cooperation documents and meet the press.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/chu-tich-nuoc-luong-cuong-chu-tri-le-don-chinh-thuc-tong-thong-brazil.html