Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trịnh Thị Tâm. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Bilateral relationship between Việt Nam and Sri Lanka has continued to achieve many significant milestones and encouraging successes through 55 years of establishment and development, despite the ups and downs of history, Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trịnh Thị Tâm said on the 55th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (July 21, 1970-2025).

As the two countries share many similarities in history, geography and culture, they have had longstanding connections even before establishing consular relations in 1964, Tâm told the Vietnam News Agency.

First, both countries have maintained fairly regular exchanges of delegations and contacts from an early stage, contributing to strengthening mutual understanding and trust. Right from the first years after Việt Nam's reunification and the establishment of diplomatic relations, high-level Vietnamese leaders visited Sri Lanka, notably the trips by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Việt Nam, Nguyễn Thị Bình in 1976, and Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng in 1978.

Second, they have established and regularly maintained three important cooperation mechanisms: The Joint Committee at the Foreign Minister level, the Political Consultation at the Deputy Foreign Minister level, and the Joint Subcommittee on Trade at the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade level. These mechanisms contribute to periodic reviews and the promotion of cooperation in specific fields.

Third, the two countries have signed nearly 40 cooperation documents covering key areas such as trade, investment, defence, agriculture, culture, education, and fisheries, with the five most recent agreements on customs, machinery manufacturing, trade promotion, education, and agriculture signed during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s state visit to Việt Nam in May. These form a solid legal foundation for comprehensive cooperation between their ministries and sectors.

Fourth, although modest, bilateral trade in recent years has remained stable at around US$300 million per year. Both countries are committed to reaching the goal of $1 billion in the near future. Encouragingly, Sri Lanka currently has more than 30 investment projects in Việt Nam with a total capital of over $43 million, ranking 64th out of 150 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam, while the latter has one project worth approximately $300,000 in Sri Lanka in the construction sector.

Fifth, cooperation in culture, Buddhism, and people-to-people exchanges is becoming a potential area in bilateral relations. Last year, nearly 15,000 Sri Lankan visitors came to Việt Nam; religious institutions from both countries are implementing many meaningful cooperation and exchange programmes. The Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka is growing, currently numbering about 150 people, who have contributed to the socio-economic development of the host country, according to Tâm.

In the context of ongoing unpredictable changes in the region and the world, the ambassador stressed that strengthening cooperative relations would be even more important, not only for the benefit of the two countries' people but also as a positive contribution to maintaining peace, stability, and sustainable development for humanity.

She suggested the two nations actively implement the commitments and agreements reached during recent visits, especially the Joint Declaration issued on the occasion of the Sri Lankan President’s trip to Việt Nam, thereby contributing to elevating bilateral relations to a new level.

Priority should be given to promoting cooperation in strong and potential fields such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and trade; and striving to achieve concrete, practical results, thus creating a fundamental breakthrough that paves the way and motivates other areas of collaboration such as defence, security, energy, mining, construction, logistics, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, technology and sports.

Special attention should be paid to the exchange of measures and sharing of experiences to promote and expand economic, trade, and investment cooperation, as these are the priorities for both countries in the current development phase, Tâm said, affirming that Việt Nam is ready to share with Sri Lanka its experience in attracting foreign investment, and expanding export markets and labour mobility.

Both sides needed to open up and create conditions for their goods to access each other's markets; consider establishing joint ventures for exploitation, production, processing to export to third countries, in order to save on production costs, transportation time, and reduce tariff barriers; and also consider initiating negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement and strengthening connectivity to facilitate trade.

Tâm also urged Việt Nam and Sri Lanka to promote cooperation to jointly tackle global challenges such as climate change, energy transition, and cybersecurity, thereby not only deepening bilateral ties but also contributing to security and development in the region and the world.

The two countries should maintain close coordination and mutual support at the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and other cooperation mechanisms, thus contributing to peace, stability, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, she added. — VNA/VNS