President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and his spouse left Hà Nội from Nội Bài International Airport on Wednesday morning. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation from Việt Nam left for an official visit to Thailand on Wednesday and to attend the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

The trip is made at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Prominent among the Vietnamese delegation are Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and Minister of Justice Lê Thành Long.

President Phúc’s visit takes place amid the thriving enhanced strategic partnership between the two countries. It is the first visit to the country by a senior Vietnamese leader after the 13th National Party Congress and also the first by a President of Việt Nam after 24 years.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hà Kim Ngọc said the trip will create a new impulse for enhanced strategic partnership.

It takes place on the threshold of the 10th anniversary of the Việt Nam - Thailand strategic partnership in 2023, Ngọc noted, highlighting the maintained contact at all levels between the two States, Governments, parliaments, and peoples, along with great strides in different spheres, especially economy, trade, and investment.

This is an occasion for Vietnamese and Thai leaders to discuss major orientations for further promoting economic, trade, and investment links; expanding cooperation to new and potential areas like digital economy, digital transformation, and green economy; and stepping up cooperation in culture, education, sports, people-to-people exchange, and locality-to-locality ties, he said.

He expressed his belief that the visit will demonstrate Vietnamese and Thai leaders’ strong determination to unceasingly promote the enhanced strategic partnership, thereby contributing to ASEAN solidarity as well as regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

The President’s participation in the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Bangkok strongly reflects Việt Nam’s active and proactive efforts to integrate comprehensively and intensively into the world and promote multilateral diplomacy, thereby contributing to regional peace, cooperation, and economic connectivity and popularising Việt Nam as a country with stability and positive economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The official said during the APEC meeting, President Phúc will engage in a number of multilateral and bilateral activities, including two in-depth discussions where he and heads of delegations from 21 member economies will look into the situation, solutions to difficulties, and measures for accelerating economic recovery and boosting balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

In the future, Việt Nam will continue joining other APEC members to overcome challenges and build an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community, the deputy minister noted. — VNS