General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam held separate meetings with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, and Japanese Minister of Defence Shinjiro Koizumi, on the sidelines of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 29.
The ministers shared the view that General Secretary and President Lam’s delivering of a keynote address at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue reflected the international community’s recognition of Vietnam’s role, voice and contributions to regional strategic issues, and demonstrated its strong interest in the country’s perspectives and approaches to promoting dialogue, building trust, enhancing cooperation, and addressing common challenges.
They showed their admiration for Vietnam’s remarkable socio-economic achievements, reaffirmed the importance they attach to relations with Vietnam, and voiced their desire to further enhance exchanges and coordination with the Southeast Asian nation in areas of shared interest, thus contributing to peace, stability and sustainable development in the region.
General Secretary and President Lam expressed his pleasure at meeting with Hegseth again and asked him to convey his regards to President Donald Trump. Hegseth, in turn, conveyed President Trump’s greetings to General Secretary and President Lam and other Vietnamese leaders, affirming that President Trump and the US Administration always value relations with Vietnam as well as the country’s increasingly important role in the region.
The General Secretary and President affirmed that Vietnam’s early participation in the Gaza Board of Peace demonstrated the country’s goodwill and responsibility in promoting dialogue, cooperation and reconciliation; and underscored the country’s readiness to contribute more actively to common efforts for peace, stability and development.
Hegseth appreciated Vietnam’s consistent, constructive and responsible approach, noting that Vietnam is increasingly regarded as a reliable partner capable of making substantive contributions to international initiatives for peace and stability.
The Vietnamese leader welcomed the US’s commitment to supporting a strong, independent, self-reliant and prosperous Vietnam, considering this an important foundation for the two countries to continue expanding cooperation on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, political system and legitimate interests. He emphasised that Vietnam regards the US as a partner of leading strategic importance and wishes to work closely with the US to effectively implement the major orientations of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, thereby fostering more stable, substantive and effective bilateral ties.
Hegseth reaffirmed that the US attaches importance to maintaining the positive momentum of the Vietnam–US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and highly values Vietnam’s goodwill, sense of responsibility and constructive approach in advancing the bilateral relations.
Discussing future cooperation, the Vietnamese leader proposed the two sides continue strengthening political trust by increasing contacts and exchanges at all levels. On this occasion, he extended an invitation to President Trump to pay an official visit to Vietnam.
Both sides agreed that economic, trade and investment cooperation will continue to serve as a key driving force of the bilateral relations, while also pledging to further strengthen exchanges, coordination and expanded cooperation in areas of mutual interest, particularly in economy, trade, investment, science and technology, innovation, defence and security.
The General Secretary and President also suggested the US pay attention to Vietnam’s legitimate development needs and facilitate its greater access to advanced technologies and high-tech products from the US, thereby contributing to broader and more balanced substantive cooperation between the two economies.
The two sides also reached consensus on maintaining ongoing collaboration programmes aimed at addressing post-war consequences, viewing them as an important factor in strengthening trust, healing the past, and laying a solid foundation for stable and long-term bilateral relations.
At the meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, General Secretary and President Lam expressed his pleasure at the strong, substantive and increasingly trustworthy development of the Vietnam–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The top Vietnamese leader highly valued the two countries’ regular high-level exchanges and contacts, including his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on April 24. He looked forward to welcoming the Australian PM back to Vietnam for a visit and to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2027.
For his part, Marles affirmed that Australia regards Vietnam as one of its most trusted partners in the region. He praised the Southeast Asian nation’s proactive, balanced and responsible approach to regional issues, and expressed Australia’s desire to further deepen bilateral ties on the basis of trust, substance and mutual benefit.
Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving global developments, particularly impacts on energy security, supply chains and economic recovery prospects, General Secretary and President Lam welcomed recent policies introduced by the Australian Government to mitigate adverse external impacts, saying this was also an area in which the two countries could strengthen exchanges, share experiences and enhance coordination in the near future.
Marles agreed that the two sides should make better use of the complementarities between their economies and expand cooperation in areas that are significant for sustainable development and resilience of each country.
In that spirit, both sides agreed to promote breakthrough measures to realise the goal of raising bilateral trade turnover to 20 billion USD and doubling two-way investment in the time to come. They also pledged to further strengthen cooperation pillars in development, education and training, science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, while accelerating the establishment of new collaboration mechanisms in energy and minerals.
General Secretary and President Lam highly appreciated Australia’s effective support for Vietnam in defence cooperation, particularly in English-language training for officers, military medical training, support for United Nations peacekeeping forces and the transport of Vietnam’s field hospitals to South Sudan.
Marles welcomed Vietnam’s recent participation in the Kakadu multilateral naval exercise hosted by Australia, as well as the effective implementation of the Peacekeeping Partnership Agreement and other defence training activities. He also shared details of Australia’s newly announced 2026 National Defence Strategy, especially its emphasis on strengthening defence cooperation with regional countries, including Vietnam.
The Vietnamese leader proposed that Australia continue creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese citizens, particularly pupils and students, while supporting the Vietnamese community in Australia to develop stably and contribute positively to both the host country and bilateral relations.
The Australian deputy PM highly valued the role of the Vietnamese community in Australia, describing them as an important bridge helping to strengthen mutual understanding, connectivity and friendship between the people of the two countries.
Meeting with Japanese Minister of Defence Koizumi Shinjiro, General Secretary and President Lam expressed his pleasure at the strong, substantive, and comprehensive development of the Vietnam – Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He hailed the significance of the official visit to Vietnam by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in early May, considering it an important milestone creating further momentum and opening up many new opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
The top leader stated he has instructed Vietnamese ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of National Defence, to swiftly develop and implement action plans to carry out the results and common perceptions achieved during the visit, thereby soon translating high-level cooperation directions into substantive action.
Koizumi affirmed that Japan treasures its relationship with Vietnam, highly values Vietnam's increasing role and stature in the region, and wishes to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields, including defence and security cooperation, in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
General Secretary and President Lam emphasised that the leaders and people of Vietnam always appreciate the important contributions by many generations of Japanese leaders to the development of bilateral ties. He acknowledged and highly valued the role of former Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, father of the current Minister of Defense, in promoting the two countries’ friendship and cooperation in the past, thereby building a solid foundation for the robust development of bilateral relations today.
The two sides agreed that the trust, close ties, and continuity in Vietnam – Japan relations are valuable assets that need to be preserved and promoted in the new period.
Regarding future cooperation directions, the Vietnamese leader suggested the two sides continue to maintain regular engagements and exchanges between high-ranking leaders; effectively utilise existing dialogue and consultation mechanisms; strengthen cooperation in defence and security; and enhance the capacity in law enforcement, UN peacekeeping operations, military medicine, search and rescue, cybersecurity, and human resources training.
He also proposed Vietnam and Japan continue to coordinate closely and share positions on regional and international issues of common concern, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region.
Koizumi affirmed that Japan will keep working closely with Vietnam to effectively implement the agreements and common perceptions reached between the countries’ high-ranking leaders. He voiced support for promoting substantive cooperation that meets the interests and concerns of each country./.
