Vietnam fires 21 cannons to welcome Philippine President

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The welcoming ceremony for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife and the high-ranking delegation took place solemnly at the Presidential Palace (Hanoi) with a 21-gun salute from the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. This is President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s first visit to Vietnam since he took office in June 2022.

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President Vo Van Thuong and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the podium of honor to participate in the flag-raising ceremony of the Philippines and Vietnam.

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President Vo Van Thuong invited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to review the honor guard of the Vietnam People's Army.

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President Vo Van Thuong takes a photo with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inside the Presidential Palace.

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Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, the two leaders and their spouses took a group photo before entering into high-level talks. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s visit took place right before the two countries celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2025, after nearly 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations.

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Currently, economic cooperation between the two countries has developed positively. The Philippines is Vietnam's 6th largest trading partner in ASEAN and 16th largest in the world, continuing to be Vietnam's largest rice export market.

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Bilateral trade turnover has more than tripled in the past 13 years. From 2.5 billion USD in 2010 to 7.8 billion USD in 2022 and remained the same in 2023, despite adverse fluctuations in the global market. Of which, Vietnam's trade surplus with the Philippines continued to increase to 2.5 billion USD. Cooperation in other important areas between the two countries such as national defense and security, education and training, labor, culture, and tourism continues to be focused. Vietnam and the Philippines also maintain close coordination at regional and international forums such as ASEAN, the United Nations, and APEC.

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After the talks, President Vo Van Thuong and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attended and witnessed the exchange of important documents between the two countries.

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Earlier, at 8:00 a.m. this morning, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife, along with a high-ranking delegation of the Philippines, laid flowers at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs, and placed flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (Photo: Minh Duc).

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Today, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, meet with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and visit Thang Long Imperial Citadel with President Vo Van Thuong (Photo: Minh Duc).

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