Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his spouse Ngô Phương Ly, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and his spouse Kyu Kyu Hla pose for a group photo with the artists performing in the banquet on September 5. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and President Tô Lâm and his spouse, Ngô Phương Ly, hosted a banquet in honour of Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and his spouse, Kyu Kyu Hla, in Hà Nội on Saturday evening.

Delivering his speech at the reception, General Secretary and President Lâm emphasised that the Myanmar leader’s official visit holds paramount significance, helping to intensify the traditional friendship and the Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership between the two countries while creating fresh momentum for bilateral ties moving forward.

He congratulated President Min Aung Hlaing and the people of Myanmar on their major development achievements over the recent past. He expressed his confidence that the industrious, talented, and creative people of Myanmar, under the leadership of President Min Aung Hlaing, will continue to achieve great results in stabilising the country, developing the economy, and building a prosperous and happy nation.

The host noted that Việt Nam and Myanmar boast a long-standing and close-knit friendship, unceasingly nurtured by generations of leaders and peoples of both nations.

Situated in Southeast Asia, the two countries share many historical, cultural, religious, and custom similarities. Having stood shoulder-to-shoulder in their past struggles for independence as well as in present-day national defence and development, they have numerous common interests in strengthening friendship and all-round cooperation, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region.

He expressed firm belief that building on the fruitful outcomes of their talks and driven by the joint determination of both countries’ leaders and peoples, the Việt Nam–Myanmar Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership will record new strides that are more comprehensive, effective, and substantive. This will maximise each country's potential and strengths and make practical contributions to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

In response, President Min Aung Hlaing stressed that Myanmar places great importance on its strong traditional ties with Việt Nam.

He added Myanmar and Việt Nam are not only close and friendly neighbours in Southeast Asia, but also long-standing partners bound by mutual respect, mutual understanding, and a warm, enduring friendship.

He expressed heartfelt gratitude for the warm hospitality, noting that visiting Việt Nam is like returning to the home of close friends.

Commending Việt Nam's achievements after 40 years of Đổi mới (Renewal), President Min Aung Hlaing extended his wishes for Việt Nam to realise its goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045.

Myanmar will spare no effort to cultivate traditional ties and bolster business connectivity between the two nations, looking ahead to the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership in 2027, he affirmed.

He underscored that Việt Nam is a crucial partner for Myanmar in trade and investment, inviting more Vietnamese enterprises to come to invest in his country. — VNA/VNS