Chilean President Gabriel Boric hosted the welcoming ceremony for President Luong Cuong.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric welcomes President Luong Cuong. Photo: VNA

The car carrying President Luong Cuong entered the central area of Constitution Square. The captain of the Chilean Presidential Guard of Honor welcomed the President at the parking lot and respectfully invited the President to step onto the red carpet to inspect the guard of honor. President Luong Cuong was then invited to the main gate with the red carpet in front of La Moneda Palace, where President Gabriel Boric Font was waiting. The two leaders shook hands and turned towards the guard of honor. The military band played the national anthems of Vietnam and Chile.

At the end of the ceremony, President Gabriel Boric Font and President Luong Cuong entered the main hall of La Moneda Presidential Palace, warmly greeted and introduced officials from both countries present at the welcoming ceremony.

This is the first visit by the President of Vietnam in 15 years, on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the historic meeting between President Ho Chi Minh and the late President Salvador Allende - the event that laid the foundation for Chile to become the first country in South America to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Despite the geographical distance, Vietnam and Chile have a good relationship, based on a special historical foundation. In May 1969, in the midst of the boiling days of the struggle for national independence, a Chilean delegation visited Vietnam, including Dr. Salvador Allende, then President of the Chilean Senate, bringing to Vietnam the solidarity of the Chilean people. The visit left a deep impression on Mr. Allende about a heroic, extraordinary and courageous Vietnam in the struggle for a just cause and one of his earnest wishes during his visit to Vietnam was to meet President Ho Chi Minh, which became a reality. After that, when elected in 1971, President Allende immediately decided to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. This event opened a new page in the history of the relationship between the Vietnamese State and Chile, bringing the relationship between the two countries to increasingly good development and gradually raising it to new heights.

Over the years, despite the great geographical distance, the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Chile have continued to develop well. The two countries have exchanged many visits at all levels, establishing a Comprehensive Partnership in May 2007 during General Secretary Nong Duc Manh's visit to Chile. The political and diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Chile have become increasingly close and trustworthy, demonstrated through visits and contacts between high-ranking leaders and leaders of ministries, sectors and localities.

One of the bright spots in the bilateral relationship is cooperation in the field of trade. Two-way trade turnover has increased fourfold in more than a decade, reaching 1.5 billion USD in 2023. Currently, Chile is one of Vietnam's leading important partners in the region; it is the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with Vietnam (in 2014). Vietnam and Chile are both member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, so the prospects for cooperation between the two countries are very diverse and rich.

On the basis of the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Chile that has been continuously consolidated and developed in many fields in recent times, President Luong Cuong's official visit to Chile this time is an important milestone creating new momentum to promote and deepen relations between the two countries.

Immediately after the official welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong and President Gabriel Boric Font led high-ranking delegations from the two countries to hold talks to discuss measures to further deepen and effectively enhance the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier, President Luong Cuong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation laid wreaths at the Monument to National Hero Bernardo O'Higgins, a revolutionary who led the fight for Chile's independence from colonial rule in the early 19th century.

Below are photos of the welcoming ceremony recorded by VNA reporters: