General Secretary, President attends Vietnam-Thailand Business Forum 2026
WVR/VNA - General Secretary, President To Lam hopes businesses from Vietnam and Thailand will enter a new phase of cooperation with a long-term vision, creative thinking, and a higher sense of development responsibility.
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| The General Secretary, State President speaks at the Vietnam-Thailand Business Forum 2026. (Source: VNA) |
On May 28, in the capital city of Bangkok, General Secretary, President To Lam attended the Vietnam-Thailand Business Forum 2026, co-organized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association.
Also in attendance were Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, senior delegates from both countries, and representatives from the leadership of nearly 700 Vietnamese and Thai businesses.
In his opening remarks at the forum, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul emphasized that the world is currently facing volatility, instability, and rapid changes. Meanwhile, technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), the digital economy, and green industries, are swiftly transforming the global economic structure. Nations need to adapt quickly to maintain competitiveness and prepare for the future economy.
Amid these uncertainties, ASEAN countries need to cooperate more closely and rely on each other to enhance resilience and respond to external impacts. Thailand and Vietnam play crucial roles in promoting the region's economic development.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul noted that Thailand and Vietnam have close and interdependent relations, with both countries benefiting from each other's development. Currently, Thailand is Vietnam's number one trading partner in ASEAN, while Vietnam is Thailand's second-largest trading partner in ASEAN. The trade volume between the two countries has reached nearly 24 billion USD and is approaching the 25 billion USD target. Moreover, Thailand is the eighth-largest foreign investor in Vietnam.
Both Thailand and Vietnam are accelerating economic reforms to create "new growth drivers" through high-tech industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles, the digital economy, smart food and agriculture, the health economy, and clean energy.
Therefore, future cooperation should focus on preparing for the future economy, particularly in green economy sectors, renewable energy, digital transformation, science, technology, and innovation.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul assessed that the success of cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam cannot be achieved without the strong role of the private sector, which is a key driver of trade, investment, and economic connectivity between the two countries. He expressed his pleasure in attending the forum and witnessing the exchange of business agreements between the private sectors of the two countries.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed hope that the friendship between Thailand and Vietnam will grow stronger, creating sustainable development and prosperity for both nations.
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| Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul assesses that the success of cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam cannot be achieved without the strong role of the private sector. (Source: VNA) |
Speaking at the forum, General Secretary, President To Lam shared that the forum is a significant highlight of this official visit to Thailand, demonstrating the determination of both countries to deepen the Vietnam-Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a substantive and effective manner. If political relations create a foundation of trust, then economic cooperation must generate development momentum; if the governments of the two countries pave the way, then businesses must be the vanguard, turning commitments into projects, potential into value, and friendship into tangible benefits for the peoples of both nations.
General Secretary, President To Lam emphasized that Vietnam and Thailand are two important economies in ASEAN, with strong, reliable political ties and increasingly intertwined development interests. In 2026, the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
The upgrade of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2025 has opened a new phase of cooperation, with higher demands for vision, quality, and substantive effectiveness. Currently, both sides are actively implementing the 2025-2030 Action Program to concretize the new strategic cooperation directions between the two countries.
The world is entering a cycle of extensive restructuring. Supply chains are being rearranged; digital technology, artificial intelligence, green transformation, the circular economy, and energy security are reshaping the competitive advantages of each nation. In this context, Vietnam and Thailand need to transcend traditional bilateral cooperation, jointly creating a complementary economic space where the two countries do not compete by going it alone but elevate each other's positions in the ASEAN value chain, ASEAN's resilience, and contribute to the region's sustainable growth.
Highlighting the developmental advantages of both countries, General Secretary, State President To Lam noted that one side is strong in resilience, while the other is rich in experience and depth. If these advantages are connected with a new vision, Vietnam and Thailand can jointly form supply chains, production and distribution centers, trade platforms, services, and new growth drivers for both countries and ASEAN.
In recent years, Vietnam-Thailand economic cooperation has developed substantively and is increasingly deepening. General Secretary, State President To Lam emphasized that the current results are only a foundational start, with many untapped areas. Trade still primarily relies on goods exchange, bilateral investment does not fully reflect the capabilities of businesses from both countries, and production, digital finance, tourism, and services connections remain fragmented, with the synergistic value in the ASEAN supply chain not yet clearly defined.
General Secretary, President To Lam urged the business communities of both countries to focus on promoting the following directions: jointly building the Vietnam-Thailand value chain within the ASEAN space. Cooperation between the two countries should go beyond ordinary goods exchange, aiming for co-production, co-processing, co-distribution, and co-branding. Leveraging complementary strengths in agriculture, food, consumer goods, retail, energy, tourism, and services, both sides can deepen connections in production, e-commerce, green standards, and traceability to jointly create new products, supply chains, and values bearing the ASEAN mark.
The two countries need to promote three connections (production connection; infrastructure connection; transformation connection) to form a complementary economic space between Vietnam and Thailand. These three connections will help Vietnam and Thailand transcend ordinary market relations, forming two complementary links in ASEAN's new production, service, and growth network.
Economic cooperation between the two countries must deeply penetrate the lives of the people through tourism, services, and digital finance. The two countries need to better connect flights, joint tourism routes, retail, cuisine, culture, and education with cross-border QR payments, e-wallets, digital commerce, and digital finance. When Vietnamese tourists can conveniently pay in Bangkok, and Thai tourists can easily shop in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, or Phu Quoc, economic cooperation will no longer be just directions but will enter each transaction, each product, and each specific business opportunity.
General Secretary, State President To Lam suggested that after the forum, both sides should promptly develop a list of priority projects for the 2026-2030 period in logistics, agriculture, food, clean energy, digital commerce, tourism, and human resource training to turn the cooperation vision into concrete results.
General Secretary, President To Lam affirmed that Vietnam always considers the success of foreign investors as part of its own success; appreciates the long-term, serious, and effective presence of Thai businesses in Vietnam; and sees them as important bridges between the two economies and business communities. Vietnam is becoming a stable, transparent, open, and more predictable investment destination; focusing on improving institutions, infrastructure, human resources, promoting digital and green transformation, administrative reform; and is committed to protecting the legitimate rights of investors, listening, accompanying, and resolving difficulties with businesses.
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| General Secretary, State President To Lam and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul perform the ceremony to announce the direct flight route Phuket-Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam Airlines. (Source: TTXVN) |
General Secretary, President To Lam hopes businesses from both countries will enter a new phase of cooperation with a long-term vision, creative thinking, and a higher sense of development responsibility. Vietnam-Thailand cooperation should be measured by specific projects, new technologies, new jobs, products with higher added value, and more practical contributions to the people; thereby creating new vitality for a dynamic, resilient, and connected ASEAN.
On this occasion, General Secretary, President To Lam and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, along with senior leaders from both countries, witnessed Vietnam Airlines' announcement of a new direct flight route connecting two major tourist destinations: Ho Chi Minh City and Phuket. This route will commence operations in July 2026, using Airbus A321 aircraft with a frequency of 4 flights per week to promote tourism, exchange, and trade between the two nations.
Vietjet Aviation Group celebrates the milestone of its 50 millionth passenger. Additionally, Vietjet Aviation Group officially announced its Fleet Development Program with 50 Boeing 737-8 aircraft for Vietjet Thailand, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic relations.
Also at the forum, General Secretary, President To Lam and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, along with senior leaders from both countries, witnessed the signing of 17 strategic Memorandums of Understanding between businesses from the two nations.
