Vietnam visits by foreign leaders in 2016

General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Volachith paid an official visit to Vietnam on April 25-27 at the invitation of Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Tran Dai Quang.

During the visit, Mr Volachith and Vietnamese leaders discussed measures to enforce their traditional friendship, bring Vietnam-Laos ties to a new height, and benefit the two peoples for peace, stability, and development in the region.

US President Barack Obama paid his official visit to Vietnam on May 23-25 at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

An official welcome ceremony for US President Barack Obama took place on May 23 morning at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi.

During talks with President Tran Dai Quang, President Obama said the US lifted the embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam.

At a meeting with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on May 23, the US President praised the Vietnamese Communist Party (CPV)'s vision in leading Vietnam to gain great achievements over the past years.

At a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc the same day, the two leaders discussed measures to bolster the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership, with priority given to development cooperation.

US President Barack Obama toured the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex on May 23, accompanied by National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Vietnam and US presidents chaired an international press conference in Hanoi on May 23 to answer reporters’ queries on the outcomes of their talks and directions for the two countries’ relations going forward.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam on September 2-3 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

This is the first State visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Vietnam in 15 years.

The Indian PM visited the Stilt House of the late President Ho Chi Minh and his fish pond.

Vietnam and India PMs held talks.

On September 5, France’s President Francois Hollande began a three-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang .

During the talks, the two presidents agreed that Vietnam and France need to have a long-term cooperation vision that can ensure their common interests. To do that, political connections must be tightened first.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Hanoi on September 6 to discuss measures to foster bilateral partnership in all fields and make their ties deeper and more effective.

President Francois Hollande met Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong,

and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in the afternoon of September 28, starting a two-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

Talks were held between the two Presidents in Hanoi on September 29 during which both sides vowed to step up political and diplomatic cooperation through regular exchange of all-level visits and strengthened ties on the Party, government, State, National Assembly and people-to-people exchange.

Vietnam and the Philippines issued a Joint Statement on the official visit on September 28-29 of President of the Republic of Philippines Rodrigo Duterte to Vietnam.

An official welcome ceremony for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was hosted by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc with full honours on December 20 at Presidential Palace in Hanoi.

In the Joint Statement, the two sides agreed that strengthening and advancing the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia is of crucial importance for both nations. They committed to continually consolidate and promote the bilateral relations under the motto “good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-lasting stability”.