President Ilham Aliyev and Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam Deliver Joint Press Statements to Deepen Strategic Partnership
Baku, The Gulf Observer: On May 7, 2025, His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and His Excellency To Lam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, delivered joint press statements in Baku during the latter’s official state visit to Azerbaijan.
Statement by President Ilham Aliyev:
President Ilham Aliyev welcomed General Secretary To Lam to Azerbaijan, emphasizing the strategic significance of the visit in further deepening Azerbaijani-Vietnamese relations. He noted that the Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership, signed earlier in the day, represents a pivotal step forward in elevating bilateral ties to a new level of cooperation.
Highlighting the wide range of areas discussed during their bilateral meetings—including trade, economy, culture, education, energy, and transport—the President underscored the potential for expanding collaboration, particularly in the field of energy. He expressed optimism about joint investment opportunities and praised the ongoing dialogue on renewable energy development. Azerbaijani companies, he noted, are ready to invest in Vietnam, and reciprocal investments from Vietnamese firms are welcomed.
President Aliyev also acknowledged the importance of reviving the Intergovernmental Commission, which had not convened for several years. He called for greater diversification of trade to reduce dependency on oil exports and emphasized the need for improved information exchange between business sectors of both countries.
He further underlined the mutual interest in defense industry cooperation and the positive trajectory of multilateral engagement in international forums, especially the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. The President reiterated the shared commitment to international law, sovereignty, and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Concluding his remarks, President Aliyev expressed confidence that General Secretary To Lam’s historic visit—his first to Azerbaijan—would yield meaningful outcomes and further reinforce the friendship between the two nations.
Statement by General Secretary To Lam:
General Secretary To Lam thanked President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people for the warm reception, affirming Vietnam’s commitment to strengthening ties with Azerbaijan. He highlighted the historical friendship between the two nations, tracing it back to President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Azerbaijan in 1959.
He noted that his visit marked the first by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and reflected Vietnam’s desire to advance cooperation in all strategic sectors. Following productive talks held in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, both sides adopted the Joint Statement on establishing a strategic partnership—a milestone opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.
To implement the goals outlined in the Joint Statement, General Secretary To Lam proposed five key directions:
- Enhancing High-Level Contacts: Expanding exchanges at the party, state, parliamentary, and regional levels, and activating party-to-party ties between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the New Azerbaijan Party.
- Boosting Trade and Investment: Strengthening economic cooperation through the Intergovernmental Commission and exploring new areas such as rail, maritime transport, and agriculture.
- Expanding Defense and Security Cooperation: Deepening collaboration in defense, information security, countering transnational and cybercrime.
- Fostering Cultural and Educational Exchange: Promoting tourism, cultural cooperation, educational exchanges, and the establishment of a Friendship Society to enhance people-to-people connectivity.
- Strengthening Multilateral Cooperation: Enhancing coordination in international organizations including the UN, NAM, and CICA, while reaffirming the commitment to peaceful dispute resolution in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
General Secretary To Lam concluded by expressing confidence in the shared determination of the leadership of both nations to continue advancing cooperation for the prosperity of their peoples and the promotion of peace, stability, and cooperation in the region and globally.
