Vietnam, Sri Lanka look to future rooted in 55 years of diplomatic ties

The Vietnamese Party and State want to further deepen bilateral ties with Sri Lanka on the back of close friendship, high political trust, and shared values and interests, said Politburo member and Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilisation Nguyen Trong Nghia.

Nghia, who is Secretary of the Party Central Committee and is paying an official visit to Sri Lanka from June 1-4 on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties, told Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya that Vietnam highly values Sri Lanka’s important role and position in the region.

He suggested joint efforts to effectively realise high-level agreements, particularly the outcomes of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka’s recent visit to Vietnam; strengthen political ties through increasing the exchange of all-level delegations via Party, State, and people-to-people channels. Specific measures should be taken to further boost ties in the fields of economy, investment, trade, national defence-security, tourism, culture, education-training, as well as exchanges between people’s organisations and businesses.

PM Amarasuriya stressed the need for concrete exchanges to facilitate economic cooperation, such as streamlining visa procedures, promoting tourism, culture, education and student exchanges. She expressed her interest in learning from Vietnam’s experience in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), affirming that Sri Lanka stays ready to assist Vietnamese firms seeking to invest or form joint ventures in the country.

Both sides agreed on key priorities for future collaboration, including deepening ties between their ruling parties and exploring a direct air route to boost tourism, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges.

Meeting with General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Tilvin Silva, Nghia advocated for stronger party-to-party ties through delegation exchanges, theoretical exchanges, and sharing expertise in science, arts, journalism, information, and mass mobilisation.

The Sri Lankan Party leader expressed admiration for Vietnam’s high and stable economic growth, and voiced a desire to learn from Vietnam’s experience in economic development, education, agriculture, and science-technology.

On the occasion, Nghia met with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka G. Weerasinghe, and Chairman of the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Solidarity Association S. Sudasinghe, and co-chaired an international seminar on President Ho Chi Minh and the traditional Vietnam-Sri Lanka friendship.

General Secretary and leaders of the Sri Lanka Communist Party and the Sri Lanka–Vietnam Solidarity Association praised the CPV’s policies and Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, and described Vietnam as a model for socialist development under a communist party. They expressed a desire to strengthen substantive cooperation with the CPV, particularly in information exchange, party-building, leadership training, and mass mobilisation.

At the seminar on President Ho Chi Minh and the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Sri Lanka, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Communist Party M. Sirisena, along with other leaders, parliamentarians, and scholars of Sri Lanka highlighted President Ho Chi Minh’s contributions to national liberation movements and called him a source of inspiration for oppressed peoples.

They praised his ideology of international solidarity and affirmed the deep respect generations of Sri Lankans hold for him. His works as well as publications featuring the President have been translated into local languages, reprinted multiple times, and inspired Sri Lankan artists.

Nghia said the seminar held special significance in marking the 135th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh. He commended the sincere and insightful presentations from both countries’ scholars and underscored the late leader’s legacy of diplomacy.

Nghia also emphasised the enduring strength of Vietnam–Sri Lanka ties, underpinned by political trust, cultural similarities and shared development interests, calling these valuable assets for future cooperation.

At a meeting with Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Nghia welcomed recent progress in cultural and religious exchanges and thanked the Sri Lankan government for supporting the construction of a Vietnamese pagoda in the country.

Both sides agreed to enhance delegation exchanges, cultural and artistic programmes, spiritual tourism, and efforts to preserve religious and cultural sites. They also discussed promoting the education of traditions among youth through information sharing and bilateral exchanges, and called for wider dissemination of each country’s cultural, literary and cinematic works.

On this occasion, Nghia met with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka. His delegation also laid flowers at President Ho Chi Minh’s statue and visited the Ho Chi Minh space at Colombo Public Library.

Source: VNA
--Agencies