During the State visit to Ireland from October 1-3, at the invitation of Irish President Michael Higgins, on the morning of October 2 (local time), after the formal welcome ceremony held at the Presidential Residence, General Secretary and President To Lam, together with President Michael Higgins, co-chaired a high-level meeting between the delegations of the two countries.

Overview of the meeting. 

During the talks, President Michael Higgins warmly welcomed the first official visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to Ireland. He praised Vietnam's foreign policy and affirmed the importance of Vietnam’s role and position in the Asia-Pacific region. He emphasized that the two countries share many similarities in their struggles for national independence and highlighted that there are no areas or topics that both sides cannot discuss or cooperate on. President Higgins recalled his memorable visit to Vietnam in 2016 and expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s economic and social development, international integration, and efforts in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in recent years. He also expressed solidarity with Vietnam over the heavy damage caused by Tropical Storm Yagi (Storm No. 3).

General Secretary and President To Lam thanked President Higgins for the warm and respectful reception of the Vietnamese high-level delegation. He reaffirmed that Vietnam values the development of friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Ireland. He appreciated Ireland’s prioritization of Vietnam in its development cooperation policy under the “Global Ireland: Asia Pacific Strategy to 2025.” The Vietnamese leader expressed hope that Ireland would continue to provide development assistance in priority areas such as green growth, climate change adaptation, environmental protection, information technology, digital transformation, and sustainable development.

To strengthen political trust and mutual understanding, the two leaders agreed to enhance delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level ones, and to actively implement existing cooperation mechanisms. On this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam announced that the Vietnamese government had decided and is in the process of establishing an embassy in Ireland. Both leaders expressed confidence that this decision would open a new chapter in bilateral relations, benefiting the people of both countries.

Regarding economic, trade, and investment cooperation, both leaders affirmed that this is a crucial and rapidly developing pillar of their partnership, with two-way trade reaching USD 3.5 billion in 2024. They emphasized the need to make full use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and to promote trade and investment connections, supporting the business communities of both nations. The two sides set a goal of increasing bilateral trade to USD 5 billion by 2026, marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

President Higgins emphasized that Vietnam is a key trade partner for Ireland, and there is vast potential for further cooperation. He acknowledged Vietnam's request to expedite the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to expand cooperation and investment opportunities for businesses from both countries. He also expressed hope that Vietnam would facilitate the export of high-quality agricultural products and foodstuffs from Ireland.

The two sides welcomed the establishment of a Strategic Partnership in Higher Education between Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Ireland’s Department of Education, Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science. They also highlighted the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and Ireland's leading universities. Both leaders agreed that education is a priority area of cooperation, contributing to enhancing the quality of training, developing high-quality human resources, and promoting scientific research and innovation in Vietnam.

To foster mutual understanding and strengthen people-to-people ties, the two leaders agreed to boost cultural, artistic, and tourism exchanges, as well as cooperation between localities.

Both sides also agreed to facilitate the lives and work of citizens in each other’s countries, contributing to their respective economic and social development and serving as a bridge to strengthen bilateral relations.

During the talks, the two sides discussed in-depth regional security issues of mutual concern, such as the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East. They called for the protection of civilians, dialogue, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts based on international law and the principles of the UN Charter. The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation at multilateral forums such as ASEAN-EU and the United Nations, particularly in addressing global challenges, climate change, food security, and ensuring supply chains. Both sides supported ASEAN's stance on the South China Sea, emphasizing the need to ensure peace, stability, security, cooperation, and development in the region, and to resolve disputes through peaceful means based on respect for international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

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