Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm meets with the Vietnamese community, and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka. — VNA/VNS Photo

COLOMBO — Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, met with staff of representative agencies and the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka on Friday as part of his state visit to the South Asian nation.

At the meeting, Ambassador Trịnh Thị Tâm said the visit carries strategic significance as the two countries have just marked the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties and are seeking to elevate bilateral cooperation in the new context. It offers an opportunity for both sides to review cooperation achievements over the past five decades and identify orientations and concrete measures to lift ties to a higher level.

The ambassador also highlighted the solidarity and cohesion of the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka, saying the overseas Vietnamese have always turned their hearts towards the homeland and actively contributed to community activities while maintaining confidence in the Party and State leadership.

Speaking with the embassy staff and overseas Vietnamese, Party General Secretary and President Lâm briefed them on Việt Nam’s outstanding socio-economic achievements and strategic policies over the recent past. He stressed the significance of the visit in promoting comprehensive and effective cooperation between the two countries.

The top leader commended the ambassador and embassy staff for their strong sense of responsibility and efforts in preparing for the visit, contributing to practical and substantive outcomes.

He affirmed that Việt Nam always values its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Sri Lanka, noting the relationship has been nurtured by generations of leaders over the past 55 years.

During the visit, he went on, the two sides agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership, establishing a higher level of political trust and expanding cooperation in a more substantive and comprehensive manner across all fields.

Although the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka remains modest in size, the top leader noted that they have maintained solidarity, preserved the national cultural identity, and remained closely connected to the homeland.

He praised the community’s efforts in preserving Vietnamese culture, language and traditions and called on them to uphold the national identity while integrating well into the host society and complying with local laws.

Party General Secretary and President Lâm also asked the embassy to continue effectively implementing the Party's and the State’s foreign policy and proactively proposing measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

He stressed the need to effectively utilise the newly established Comprehensive Partnership, work towards raising bilateral trade to US$1 billion by 2030, and coordinate closely with domestic and Sri Lankan authorities to facilitate Vietnamese firms' operations in the host country. Besides, it is important to promote cultural, religious, people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges; pay more attention to the Vietnamese community's spiritual life; and step up citizen protection. — VNA/VNS