World &Vietnam Report's 35th anniversary: Edition from Embassy of Ireland
WVR - On the occasion of the World & Vietnam Report's 35th anniversary, the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam sent a congratulatory letter and reviewed the achievements in bilateral relations, especially the outcomes of the state visit to Ireland by General Secretary and President To Lam. The letter is as follows.
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| President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins and General Secretary, President To Lam during the state visit to Ireland in October, 2024. (Photo: Embassy of Ireland) |
The State Visit of General Secretary and President, HE To Lam, to Ireland in October this year marked a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship between Ireland and Vietnam. It was the first visit by a Vietnamese Head of State to Ireland.
The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, was welcomed to Vietnam for a State Visit in 2016. His visit, which took in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Tri, and Ha Long, is still fondly remembered by both sides.
President Higgins, speaking during President To Lam’s visit, noted that although there is a great geographic distance between our two countries, ‘both our peoples have led an unyielding and irrepressible struggle for independence’. This is an aspect of our relationship that resonates with people home in Ireland when they think of Vietnam, and we believe likewise when the Vietnamese people think of Ireland. Our people also have deep cultures, with an affinity for literature, poetry, and music.
Ireland is proud to be a longstanding development partner for Vietnam, and the Embassy is committed to continuing our work in crucial areas such as humanitarian mine action, working with ethnic minority groups, and joining with Vietnam to combat the shared challenge of climate change.
However, our bilateral relationship has widened and strengthened since President Higgins’ Visit in 2016. The return State Visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to Ireland in recent weeks was an opportunity to reflect and showcase our growing ties, particularly in the sectors of education, agriculture and trade, which are shared priorities.
President To Lam’s visit was short but busy and productive. He was welcomed to the Residence of the Irish President, Áras an Uachtaráin, for a cordial discussion and ceremonial tree-planting in the grounds. A State Dinner was later hosted at the Residence in his honour. He visited Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s oldest university, where he delivered a thoughtful speech on bilateral relations between Ireland and Vietnam to an audience of students and researchers.
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| General Secretary, President To Lam was welcomed to the Residence of the Irish President, Áras an Uachtaráin, for a cordial discussion and ceremonial tree-planting in the grounds. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The President met with the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, Simon Harris, as well as high-level officials in Ireland’s Parliament. During the visit, he also announced Vietnam’s intention to establish a resident Embassy in Dublin. In addition, the two sides announced a Sectoral Strategic Partnership in Higher Education, elevating our bilateral cooperation in a sector which is a shared priority for both countries.
He also had a number of engagements which reflected growing trade and business links between our two countries. Ireland is a world leader in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and General Secretary and President To Lam paid a visit to Ireland’s National Institute for Bioprocessing Research & Training. He also attended an Ireland-Vietnam business forum, where he met with fifteen Irish companies currently doing business with Vietnam, and where he witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements in the fields of education, AI and digital transformation, and aviation.
Finally, President To Lam met with members of the Vietnamese community in Ireland, some of whom were adopted by Irish parents. The people-to-people links between Ireland and Vietnam are growing. An estimated 23,000 Irish people visited Vietnam last year, drawn by its beautiful landscapes, fascinating culture, and great food, with hundreds more choosing to make Vietnam their home. The many Vietnamese students who study in Ireland each year, including those who awarded scholarships under the Ireland Fellows Programme, are also great ambassadors for the people-to-people ties between our two countries.
With the success of this return State Visit by President To Lam to Ireland, nearly ten years after the State Visit of President Michael D. Higgins to Vietnam, we hope that the warm bilateral relationship our countries share will continue to go from strength to strength. The next milestone will be the year 2026, when we will mark 30 years of bilateral relations. Our countries may be geographically distant, but there is much that unites us.
(Source: Embassy of Ireland
