The state-level visit to Vietnam by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei from March 26-28 will be a new hallmark in the 27-year diplomatic ties between the two countries, helping to consolidate and enhance bilateral cooperation across all spheres, Vietnamese Ambassador to Brunei Do Anh Tuan has said.
After the visit, the two countries are expected to continue their mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations, and contribute to the common voice of solidarity and the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to which both are members.
They will also work to maintain and promote peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of aviation and navigation in the region, the ambassador said.
The visit takes place amidst fruitful developments of the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
Vietnam and Brunei set up diplomatic ties in 1992. As members of ASEAN, both countries have made significant contributions to the bloc’s collaboration across all fields, identifying its future development and cooperation orientations as well as major decisions and policies.
They have joined efforts to strengthen solidarity, improve the role and position of ASEAN in the region and the world, and ensure regional peace, stability, collaboration, and development.
In the realm of politics, the two sides have maintained high-level visits and meetings, including visits to Brunei by President Tran Duc Luong in 2001, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2007, and President Truong Tan Sang in 2012.
During the official visit to Brunei by President Tran Dai Quang in 2016, the two sides signed a joint statement under which they committed to intensifying the bilateral economic ties, aiming to raise two-way trade to 500 million USD by 2025 and facilitate investment and business links between the two countries.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has also visited Vietnam and attended the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forums hosted by the country.
In 2017, the two countries marked the 25th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties with the first meeting of the Vietnam-Brunei Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Hanoi. The second meeting was scheduled for 2019 in Brunei.
Brunei has supported Vietnam in joining such international forums as the UNESCO Executive Board for 2015-2019, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2016-2018, and the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for 2020-2021. The two countries have also cooperated fruitfully within ASEAN and other regional and international forums.
With its per capita income ranking second in ASEAN, Brunei has been seen as a promising market for Vietnamese consumption, farm produce, and food goods as the country is unable to produce them at home.
As of February 2019, two-way trade had reached 43 million USD, with 39 million USD coming from Vietnam’s imports. In 2018, bilateral trade exceeded 54 million USD, of which Vietnam’s import revenue was 36 million USD.
Vietnam mainly exports seafood and rice to Brunei, and imports chemicals from the country.
As of late 2018, Brunei ranked 21st among 128 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, and fourth among Vietnam’s ASEAN investors after Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, with 179 projects worth over 1 billion USD.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is running two projects in Brunei with the total registered capital of 3.6 million USD.
In national defence, Vietnam and Brunei have set up attache offices in the respective countries, and regularly exchanged high-ranking delegations.
Furthermore, they have partnered in tourism, fishery, security, cross-border crime combat, and education. They are completing procedures for the signing of an agreement on setting up a hotline on fishing at sea, while gearing towards the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation.
Vietnam highly evaluates India’s role and contributions to regional peace, stability and development, and always regards India as one of its most important partners, the top leader said.
The Party and State leaders expressed their profound respect and boundless gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh, who founded and trained the Communist Party of Vietnam and made immense contributions to the Party and nation’s glorious revolutionary cause.
The NA's Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs has moved fast to reshuffle its organisation after the 14th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 16th NA, updating its work agenda to match new directives set out in the resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress and the first Congress of the NA Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 term.
Vietnam and Croatia should strive to double bilateral trade turnover from the current level of 161 million USD; study the establishment of a Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation to create a long-term, stable, and effective framework for collaboration, said Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Jesús Faria expressed deep admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam’s indomitable struggle for national independence. He described President Ho Chi Minh as an immortal symbol of 20th-century national liberation movements, whose legacy continues to inspire leftist parties, progressive movements, and peoples across Latin America, including Venezuela.
Vietnam National University, Hanoi must rise even further, becoming a leading academic pillar, a major hub of innovation, and a pioneering force in Vietnam’s higher education system; while also serving as a distinguished and reputable representative of Vietnamese intellect on the international stage.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang shared Vietnam’s approach to building an independent and self-reliant economy linked to deep international integration, while proposing several key areas for enhanced cooperation between BRICS and partner countries at the Expanded BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting that opened on May 14 in India.
The Central Steering Committee for reviewing the one-year operation of the political system’s apparatus and the two-tier local administration model convened its first session in Hanoi on May 14.
PSNews - The spokesperson stated that the dispatch of personnel by relevant parties to features belonging to Truong Sa without Vietnam’s permission constitutes a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty under international law. She stressed that such actions run counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as ongoing efforts by countries to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
PSNews - Vietnam’s proposals placed the highest priority on ensuring a peaceful and stable environment conducive for continued sustainable development and improving the well-being and happiness of the ASEAN people. They were praised by member states and incorporated into the core contents of the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the response to the Middle East crisis.
Both sides emphasised that advancing bilateral relations is a shared strategic choice, and pledged to steadfastly pursue the socialist path and jointly safeguard the socialist regimes and the leadership role of their Communist Parties as their most fundamental common strategic interest, Ambassador He Wei said.
At the meetings, the senior Vietnamese Party official affirmed that Vietnam would continue to work closely with Cambodia to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, while consistently supporting Cambodia’s peaceful, stable and prosperous development.
Vietnam highly values the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in strengthening national capacity in crime prevention and criminal justice, drug control, and addressing emerging challenges, particularly cybercrime, said Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man underlined that digital transformation must go beyond investing in software or platforms and instead create substantive changes in working methods, advisory quality and operational efficiency.
Consolidating the central steering committees for institutional and legal reform and for judicial reform is necessary in order to streamline organisational structures without reducing responsibilities, while ensuring clear accountability, measurable outputs and concrete results. Following the restructuring, the body will be renamed the central steering committee for institutional improvement and law enforcement, with the Party General Secretary and State President serving as its head.
Bui Thi Minh Hoai was re-elected President of the the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee for the 2026-2031 tenure at the first conference of the 11th-term VFF Central Committee, held before the closing session of its 11th National Congress on May 13 morning in Hanoi.
At the meeting this week, Ambassador Viet briefed the UNGA President on developments during the first two weeks of the conference. He stressed that the current international geopolitical landscape poses numerous complex challenges, while reaffirming Vietnam’s determination, together with other member states, to promote substantive and balanced outcomes at the conference.
The host leader stressed that cooperation between localities, particularly between the capitals of Hanoi and Vientiane, plays an especially important role as a pioneering force in effectively implementing the foreign polices of the two Parties and States, while also serving as a bridge between politics and development, as well as between strategy and concrete action.
More than 1,300 delegates are attending the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) for the 2026–2031 tenure, including 1,138 official delegates.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung praised ministries and agencies for their proactive steps since the beginning of this year and especially from early April to follow the Politburo’s Resolution 57 and Conclusion 18, with clear, positive progress.