President José Ramos-Horta lays a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. (Photo: PANO)

At the invitation of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, To Lam, President José Ramos-Horta is visiting Vietnam from July 31 to August 3. This is President Ramos-Horta's second visit to Vietnam after more than 14 years and marks the fourth high-level visit from Timor-Leste to Vietnam.

During this visit, President Ramos-Horta is scheduled to hold talks with President To Lam, meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and have a session with National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

President Ramos-Horta and President To Lam will visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum together. On the following working day, President Ramos-Horta is expected to meet and interact with students from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

On the morning of August 1, President José Ramos-Horta and the high-level delegation of Timor-Leste also laid a wreath at the Monument to Fallen Soldiers on Bac Son Street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi.

As neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Timor-Leste have long had a good friendship. Vietnam was one of the first countries to recognize the Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (Fretilin) in 1975. In 2002, the two countries officially established diplomatic relations. Since then, the bilateral relationship has been actively maintained by both nations.

Vietnam and Timor-Leste frequently coordinate their positions in regional and international multilateral forums, especially on important strategic issues. In the context of Timor-Leste's process of joining ASEAN to further expand opportunities for economic, political, and cultural cooperation with member countries in the regional community, Vietnam has always expressed strong support and is ready to share its experience to help Timor-Leste become an official ASEAN member as soon as possible./.

Compiled by BTA