Party chief leaves for visits to Indonesia, Singapore

By VNA March 8, 2025 | 06:30 pm PT

Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, March 9, 2025. Photo courtesy of Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly left Hanoi Sunday for a state visit to Indonesia, an official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat, and an official visit to Singapore.

The trip, taking place from March 9 to 13, is made at the invitations of Indonesian President and President of the Great Indonesia Movement Party Prabowo Subianto, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, and Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of its People's Action Party (PAP) Lawrence Wong.

The trip reaffirms Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, and multilateralization and diversification of international relations.

It also underscores the importance the Vietnamese Party and State attach to relations with neighboring countries in the region, including two key partners —Indonesia and Singapore, while highlighting Vietnam's proactive, responsible, and innovative spirit, with practical contributions toward realizing ASEAN’s shared aspirations for the future.

Indonesia is Vietnam's second-largest trading partner in ASEAN, with bilateral trade reaching $16.7 billion in 2024, a 21.6% increase from 2023. The two countries aim to raise this figure to $18 billion by 2028.

Indonesia was among the first countries in the region to establish security and defense ties with Vietnam, opening a military attaché office in 1964. The two nations regularly exchange defense and security delegations, sign bilateral defense agreements, and actively participate in ASEAN security initiatives.

Singapore is Vietnam's fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN and its 14th-largest globally. In 2024, bilateral trade reached $10.3 billion, a 14.7% increase from 2023, marking a strong growth rate compared to other regional partners.

Singapore is also the largest ASEAN investor in Vietnam and the second-largest overall among 147 countries and territories. It currently has 3,915 projects with a total registered capital exceeding $83 billion in Vietnam.