On the morning of March 28, at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong presided over the state-level welcome ceremony for President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.

At the invitation of President Luong Cuong, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, to begin his state visit from March 27 to 29, 2025. On the morning of March 28, at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong presided over the state-level welcome ceremony for President Lula da Silva.

The solemn ceremony, held in accordance with Vietnamese state protocol, demonstrated Vietnam’s deep appreciation for the visit and its commitment to fostering closer cooperation with Brazil.

This marks President Lula da Silva’s second visit to Vietnam, coming 17 years after his first visit in 2008. President Lula da Silva has a deep affection for and great admiration of Vietnam. His connection with the country dates back to his early years when he actively expressed his solidarity with Vietnam by joining street demonstrations in support of its struggle for national liberation. His longstanding respect for Vietnam and its people adds a special significance to this visit, reinforcing the historical bonds and the growing partnership between the two nations.

President Lula da Silva's visit to Vietnam this time is also the first state visit by a foreign head of state to Vietnam in 2025. This highlights Vietnam’s high regard for President Lula da Silva personally and underscores the importance the country places on strengthening the Vietnam-Brazil relationship. The visit reflects Vietnam’s commitment to fostering closer diplomatic ties, enhancing bilateral cooperation, and expanding collaboration in various fields between the two nations.

President Lula da Silva's visit to Vietnam this time is a new milestone of extremely important significance in the relationship between the two countries, in line with Vietnam's foreign policy, contributing to concretizing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the project "Developing relations between Vietnam and Latin American countries in the 2022-2026 period", promoting the implementation of international commitments and concretizing new cooperation frameworks, while affirming Vietnam's determination to strengthen cooperation with important partners in the Latin American region, especially Brazil.

Attending the welcoming ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy; Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son and a number of leaders of ministries, branches and localities.

The visit demonstrates the continuous development in relations between Vietnam and Brazil, as well as the commitment of both sides to agree on measures to effectively implement the framework of the Vietnam - Brazil Strategic Partnership, promoting practical cooperation in fields such as politics - security, economics - trade - investment, science - technology - innovation, culture - society and climate change to a new success.

The visit of Brazilian President Lula da Silva also serves as an opportunity for leaders of both sides to discuss and reach a consensus on concretizing the substance of the Strategic Partnership, turning political commitments into practical and effective cooperation programs that bring mutual benefits. This also marks a significant milestone for Vietnam in strengthening cooperation with the largest economy in South America, which plays a pivotal and leading role in the region.

In terms of economic and trade cooperation, Brazil is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America, while Vietnam is also an important partner of Brazil in Southeast Asia. In recent years, bilateral trade relations between Vietnam and Brazil have increased rapidly, from USD 1.53 billion in 2011 to USD 7.98 billion in 2024. Two countries are striving to boost bilateral turnover to USD 10 billion in 2025 and USD 15 billion in 2030.

In addition, the two countries have the potential to enhance cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy, science and technology, security and defense, environmental protection and climate change responses. Vietnam also expects to soon start FTA negotiations with MERCOSUR, of which Brazil is a member.

Authors: Tung Dinh - Thanh Hai

Translated by Kieu Chi