HCMC – President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his spouse arrived in Hanoi this afternoon, January 29, for a state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse.
President Marcos Jr. is scheduled to hold talks with President Thuong, have separate meetings with leaders of Vietnam, and engage in other activities during his two-day visit. This is his first state visit to Vietnam since he took office in June 2022.
Before boarding the plane to Vietnam, he said that this visit was very important as Vietnam is the country’s only strategic partner in the ASEAN region. The visit also aims to reaffirm the Philippines’ commitment to further enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries, reported Thanh Nien news site.
Vietnam and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in 1976, and elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2015.
The Philippines is Vietnam’s 16th largest trading partner in the world and the 6th within ASEAN, with two-way trade increasing from US$2.9 billion in 2012 to US$7.8 billion in 2022. By the end of November 2023, their bilateral trade had reached US$7.1 billion.
Notably, the Philippines is Vietnam’s primary rice buyer, with trade valued at US$1.41 billion in January-November 2023.
