President Luong Cuong’s State visits to Egypt and Angola: Sowing “seeds of prosperity” with Africa
WVR - The State visits to Egypt and Angola by President Luong Cuong and the First Lady are considered significant milestones that open a new phase of development in which Vietnam’s traditional friendship with African countries becomes more substantive and efficient for a shared prosperous future.
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| President Luong Cuong’s State visits to Egypt and Angola: Sowing “Seeds of Prosperity” with Africa. (Photo: WVR) |
From August 3 to 9, President Luong Cuong and the First Lady, accompanied by a high-level Vietnamese delegation, will pay State visits to Egypt and Angola at the invitations of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco.
Carrying to the African continent a vision of prosperous and sustainable development, the State visits to Egypt and Angola by President Luong Cuong and the First Lady are expected to create strong momentum for cooperation between Vietnam and the two countries in particular and Africa in general.
The visits to these two African partners hold profound significance, reaffirming Vietnam’s consistent policy of valuing its traditional friendship with African nations while expressing the desire to strengthen political trust and foster multifaceted cooperation with this promising region in a new phase of development.
New development space with Egypt
The first destination among President Luong Cuong’s African working visits is Egypt, Vietnam’s largest trade partner and market in North Africa. This marks the first State visit by a top Vietnamese leader to Egypt in seven years.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Nguyen Huy Dung assessed that the visit is an important political and diplomatic event for both countries, carrying special meaning as it demonstrates a commitment to breakthroughs in elevating relations, consolidating political trust, and deepening traditional friendship. This, in turn, creates momentum and opens a new phase of cooperation, especially in economics and trade between Vietnam and Egypt as well as with African nations.
During a meeting with Egyptian Ambassador Amal Abdel Kader Elmorsi Salama on July 1, President Luong Cuong highly appreciated Egypt’s role in the Middle East and North Africa and affirmed Vietnam’s desire to promote increasingly substantive and effective bilateral cooperation.
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| President Luong Cuong’s State visits to Egypt and Angola: Cairo, Egypt. (Source: Getty Images) |
The visit takes place at a pivotal time for both nations. Vietnam is striving to fulfill the foreign policy objectives set out at the 13th Party Congress, implementing institutional and infrastructural breakthroughs for national development in preparation for the 14th Party Congress. Meanwhile, Egypt is accelerating the implementation of Egypt Vision 2030 to further affirm and consolidate its regional and global standing. Therefore, in such a crucial period, the visit upholds strategic significance and long-term impact on Vietnam–Egypt relations, contributing to the implementation of development projects for relations with the Middle East–Africa (2016–2025) and the African Union (2021–2025).
During the visit, President Luong Cuong will hold high-level talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; meet Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Senate President Abdel-Razek, and House Speaker El-Gebaly; visit and deliver a policy address at the Arab League (AL) headquarters. The President will also meet with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and the local Vietnamese community.
Egypt is Africa’s second-largest economy, with GDP reaching USD 380 billion in 2024, and ranks first in Africa in attracting FDI. Its main economic sectors include tourism, petroleum, textiles, agriculture, fruit cultivation, agricultural processing, chemicals, and construction.
As the first North African country to recognize Vietnam’s full market economy status (November 2013), Egypt is a key market for Vietnam, with bilateral trade currently reaching USD 541.36 million — the highest in North Africa — of which Vietnam enjoys a trade surplus of USD 472.63 million, including exports such as computers, electronic components, seafood, agricultural products, and textile fibers.
With its strategic position and management of the Suez Canal — the vital maritime route connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea — Egypt is a pivotal country in the Middle East–North Africa region, wielding influence in regional organizations such as AL, AU, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It is a member of BRICS and plays an important mediating role in regional conflicts.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is an ASEAN member and a BRICS partner, committed to promoting multilateral mechanisms toward sustainable development and South–South cooperation. Both countries are developing economies with mutual needs for cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, industry, energy, and digital transformation.
Thus, President Luong Cuong’s presence in Egypt reflects a determination to further strengthen political trust and comprehensively elevate bilateral relations, opening a new space full of potential in Vietnam–Egypt cooperation for a shared prosperous future. It also offers an opportunity for both nations to better build and leverage new cooperative mechanisms based on respect for international law, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political systems of each country.
Commemorating Milestones with Angola
Continuing to spread the aspiration for development to African nations, President Luong Cuong and the First Lady will make a State visit to Angola — a vast, resource-rich Central African nation. This will be the first State visit by a top Vietnamese leader to Angola in 17 years, following previous visits by President Tran Duc Luong (2002) and General Secretary Nong Duc Manh (2008).
The visit is a meaningful milestone in 2025, a year marked by significant anniversaries for both nations: the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 – April 30, 2025), the 80th anniversary of Vietnam’s Independence Day (September 2, 1945 – September 2, 2025), the 50th anniversary of Angola’s Independence (November 11, 1975 – November 11, 2025), and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (November 12, 1975 – November 12, 2025).
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| Luanda, Angola. (Source: Puolotrip) |
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola Duong Chinh Chuc, the visit will help consolidate mutual trust and understanding, as well as allow high-level leaders to review cooperation outcomes and outline future directions to foster bilateral ties, opening a new chapter in relations between the two countries.
On this occasion, both sides are expected to sign several important documents, facilitating people-to-people and business cooperation in economic and other areas, as well as citizen support and protection work. During the visit, President Luong Cuong will also meet and encourage the Vietnamese community in Angola — the largest Vietnamese community in Africa (around 10,000 people) — reflecting the Party and State’s care for overseas Vietnamese and motivating them to maintain ties with their homeland and contribute to national development.
From a multilateral aspect, amid rapidly evolving, complex regional and global dynamics and a trend toward a multipolar, multicenter world, President Luong Cuong’s visit to Angola — currently the rotating chair of the AU — is also an important opportunity to enhance cooperation between Vietnam and the AU, Angola and ASEAN, and to act as a bridge for ASEAN–AU relations.
During his meeting with Angolan Ambassador to Vietnam Fernando Miguel on April 24, President Luong Cuong emphasized that Vietnam wishes to work with Angola to promote and expand cooperation in potential areas where both sides have strengths; actively support each other and coordinate to highlight the role and voice of developing countries at multilateral forums; strengthen high-level exchanges, political trust, and people-to-people ties between the two nations.
Vietnam was among the first countries to recognize Angola’s independence. In meetings, many Angolan leaders proudly recalled being treated by Vietnamese doctors, taught by Vietnamese teachers, and learning about Vietnam’s struggle for independence with famous victories against imperialism and colonialism such as the Dien Bien Phu victory and the April 30 victory, as well as hearing stories about President Ho Chi Minh. In Luanda, there is Ho Chi Minh Avenue, about 3.4 km long, which is one of the most beautiful streets in the capital.
Over the past five decades, both sides have made significant efforts, but the results of cooperation have not yet matched the good friendship and potential of the two countries.
With abundant development potential, a young and plentiful workforce, and high demand for consumer goods, Angola is focusing on diversifying its economy and improving domestic production capacity, especially in agriculture and consumer goods manufacturing, while investing in the improvement of transportation and telecommunications systems. Entering a new era, Vietnam is hoping to export more goods worldwide, with Vietnamese enterprises striving to expand their reach and affirm their position in foreign markets. Therefore, the presence of the Vietnamese Head of State in the Central African nation is expected to create strong momentum to deepen bilateral cooperation in multiple fields.
With many special highlights and great expectations, the State visit to Vietnam’s two leading African partners by President Luong Cuong, his spouse, and the high-level delegation will further deepen the friendship and create strong motivation to promote multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt and Angola in particular, and with African countries in general, for a prosperous future for the peoples of each country and the region.
