The following excerpts are adapted from the speech by General Secretary and President To Lam at the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Sri Lanka holds a very special place in the historical memory and sentiments of the Vietnamese people. President Ho Chi Minh visited Sri Lanka three times during his revolutionary activities. The statue of President Ho Chi Minh in Colombo, inaugurated in 2013, has become a moving symbol of the affection that the Sri Lankan people have for Vietnam.
For the Vietnamese people, these are not just the footprints of a leader on his journey to find independence for his nation. They also represent a natural encounter between nations that cherish freedom, peace, humanism, and justice. President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed: “If a country is independent but its people do not enjoy happiness and freedom, then independence is meaningless.” This idea resonates deeply with the aspirations of the Sri Lankan people for an independent, peaceful, and stable country that brings a better life to all its citizens.
Although geographically distant, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are very close in history, culture, and aspirations for development. Both nations share long-standing traditions, rich identities, and a strong emphasis on compassion, tolerance, and harmony. Buddhism and other Eastern cultural values have contributed to nurturing in each nation a love for peace, compassion, and a sense of community.
Since establishing diplomatic relations on July 21, 1970, Vietnam-Sri Lanka relations have been nurtured for over half a century. Last year, the two countries celebrated the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations; President Anura Kumara Dissanayake paid a state visit to Vietnam and attended the United Nations Vesak Day celebrations in Ho Chi Minh City.
These events demonstrate that the relationship between the two countries is built not only on diplomatic documents, but also on understanding, trust, and genuine affection between the people of the two nations.
Today, in the Sri Lankan Parliament, I would like to share with you the journey of Vietnam’s development, especially its Doi Moi (Renovation) process over the past nearly 40 years.
Nearly 40 years ago, when Vietnam began its Doi Moi (Renovation) process in 1986, it faced countless difficulties. The country had just gone through decades of war, its infrastructure was devastated, its economy was stagnant, people’s lives were impoverished, and development resources were very limited. In that context, Vietnam chose Doi Moi.
Innovation begins with a change in mindset. We recognize that, in order to develop the country, we must face the truth, accurately assess reality, boldly change outdated mechanisms, unleash the creativity of the people, promote the role of businesses, open up to integration with the world, and build a socialist rule of law state, of the people, by the people, and for the people.
From a centrally planned, subsidized economy, Vietnam has gradually built a socialist-oriented market economy; promoting all economic sectors; ensuring the State’s role in managing, guiding, and creating development; while respecting market laws, encouraging competition, innovation, and international integration.
In agriculture, Vietnam has empowered farmers, unleashed production potential, ensured food security, gradually transitioned from food insecurity to food self-sufficiency, and become one of the key agricultural exporters. In industry and services, Vietnam has opened its doors to attract investment, developed infrastructure, established industrial parks and economic zones, promoted trade, and participated more deeply in regional and global value chains.
In foreign policy, Vietnam consistently pursues a path of independence, self-reliance, self-strength, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development; multilateralizing and diversifying international relations; being a friend, a reliable partner, and a responsible member of the international community.
From that experience, Vietnam has achieved significant results, as evidenced by economic and social statistics (from a country facing food shortages and being among the 20 poorest countries in the world, Vietnam has become a leading rice exporter globally, among the 32 largest economies in the world with a GDP of $514 billion in 2025, and a GDP per capita exceeding $5,000 per year; it is also one of the top 15 countries in the world in terms of trade volume and attracting foreign investment, participating in over 20 free trade agreements, and connecting with more than 60 important economies worldwide…).
However, we are also deeply aware that Vietnam still faces many difficulties and challenges: labor productivity needs to be further improved; the quality of growth must be enhanced; climate change, population aging, strategic competition, digital transformation, energy transition, and fluctuations in global trade pose many new demands. The achievements we have made do not make us complacent; on the contrary, the more Vietnam develops, the more it understands that development is a continuous journey of innovation, self-adjustment, self-improvement, and progress.
From that journey, Vietnam has drawn some lessons that we believe could be valuable for other developing countries.
Firstly, we must remain steadfast in our independence and self-reliance, while proactively and actively integrating into the international community; attracting international investment and developing trade must go hand in hand with enhancing our endogenous capacity.
Independence and self-reliance are the foundation for each nation to protect its legitimate interests and choose a development path suitable to its conditions. However, self-reliance does not mean isolation. Self-reliance means having the courage, capacity, and confidence to cooperate with all partners on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit. Vietnam always considers internal strength decisive, but external strength is also important. Internal strength includes people, institutions, culture, traditions, aspirations, and the creativity of the people. External strength includes knowledge, markets, technology, investment, management experience, and international cooperation. The power of development lies in the ability to harmoniously combine these two resources.
International integration opens vast opportunities, but endogenous capacity remains decisive. Attracting foreign investment is necessary, but not sufficient. Sustainable development requires enhancing the capacity of domestic businesses, improving the quality of human resources, supporting industries, management capabilities, innovation, and the ability to participate more deeply in global value chains.
Vietnam is striving to shift from growth heavily reliant on capital, labor, and resources to growth more driven by productivity, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, and the quality of its human resources.
Secondly, we must enhance the role of law, the National Assembly, and national governance in fostering development; innovation must begin with innovation in thinking and improvement of institutions.
Sustainable development requires a stable, transparent, fair, and adaptable legal framework. If the Government paves the way through policy, then the National Assembly ensures that this path is illuminated by law, accountability, and the will of the people.
In Vietnam, the National Assembly plays a crucial role in institutionalizing development policies, enacting laws, deciding on major national issues, overseeing state activities, and reflecting the aspirations of the people. Speaking before the Sri Lankan Parliament today, I see even more clearly the role of legislative bodies in building trust, promoting reform, and ensuring inclusive development.
A sound policy can bring about change in a single sector. But a sound development mindset can pave the way for an entire nation. Innovation in Vietnam is not just about changing certain economic policies, but about changing the perspective on development, on the roles of the State, the market, the people, and businesses.
We are working and summarizing simultaneously, experimenting and scaling up, avoiding haste and extremism, but persistently pursuing innovation. Vietnam’s lesson is that we must start from our own country’s realities, respect objective laws, and at the same time selectively learn from international experience, adapting it to Vietnam’s specific conditions.
Third, people must be at the center, the goal, and the driving force of development.
Development is not just about GDP growth. Development must be measured by a better life for the people, by educational opportunities for children, by stable employment for workers, by community safety, and by the people’s trust.
With the perspective that “the people are the foundation,” Vietnam has always linked economic growth with poverty reduction, social welfare, education, healthcare, rural development, and improving the quality of life. The people are not only beneficiaries, but also creators, participants, and masters of the development process.
An economy may grow rapidly for a period, but a nation only achieves sustainable development when its people feel they are beneficiaries, participants, and owners of that development process.
Fourth, consider agriculture, farmers, and rural areas as the crucial foundation of stability and development.
For many developing countries, agriculture is more than just an economic sector. It is linked to food security, the livelihoods of millions of people, social stability, community culture, and resilience to crises.
Vietnam has begun many reforms starting with agriculture and rural areas. From our experience, we have found that ensuring farmers’ livelihoods, developing rural infrastructure, modernizing agricultural production, deep processing, reducing post-harvest losses, building brands, and adapting to climate change are crucial pillars of sustainable development.
The world is changing very rapidly. Science and technology, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, energy transition, climate change, supply chain shifts, and strategic competition are creating both opportunities and challenges for every country.
The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam set the goal that by 2030 Vietnam will become a developing country with modern industry and high middle income; and by 2045 it will become a developed country with high income.
To achieve that goal, Vietnam is strongly promoting institutional reforms, human resource development, building a synchronous and modern infrastructure; developing science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and green transformation; enhancing national competitiveness; ensuring macroeconomic stability; better caring for the people’s lives; and building an advanced Vietnamese culture rich in national identity.
We understand that great aspirations must be demonstrated through concrete actions, specifically through more vigorous reforms, more effective governance, broader promotion of democracy, deeper national unity, and more substantive international cooperation.
These issues are not unique to Vietnam. They are also common questions for many developing countries, including Vietnam and Sri Lanka: how to develop faster but more sustainably; to be more modern but more inclusive; to integrate more deeply while maintaining independence, self-reliance, and national identity.
Each country has its own history, culture, conditions, resources, and development choices. What we want to share is the journey we have taken, including both successes and failures, with a spirit of openness and a willingness to learn together.
Regarding bilateral relations, we look forward to opening a new phase of deeper, more substantive, and more effective cooperation with Sri Lanka.
I am pleased to announce to the Parliament and people of Sri Lanka that, based on political trust, traditional friendship, and the growing need for deeper cooperation, Vietnam and Sri Lanka have agreed to upgrade their bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership. This is an important milestone, opening up new, more comprehensive, substantive, and effective areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Within this new framework, we are in a more favorable position to deepen cooperation in politics, defense and security, economics, trade, investment, agriculture, education, culture, tourism, science and technology, digital transformation, and multilateral coordination.
With that in mind, I would like to propose several major areas of cooperation.
First, strengthen political trust and parliamentary cooperation.
The two countries need to continue maintaining exchanges of high-level and other delegations; strengthen cooperation between agencies of the Party, State, Government, Parliament, and local authorities of the two countries; and promote the role of consultation mechanisms, dialogues, joint committees, and bilateral cooperation channels.
In particular, the parliaments of the two countries can strengthen the exchange of experiences on legislation, supervision, administrative reform, digital transformation in parliamentary activities, lawmaking to serve sustainable development, protecting vulnerable groups, promoting gender equality, and creating opportunities for youth. Vietnam hopes that the two parliaments will promote the activities of friendship parliamentary groups, serving as a bridge to make the relationship between the two countries increasingly close and substantive.
Secondly, we need to create a more significant shift in economic, trade, and investment cooperation.
Economic cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka has significant potential. The two countries have complementary markets, products, geographical locations, and capabilities. Vietnam can serve as a bridge for Sri Lanka to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN and Southeast Asia; Sri Lanka can be an important link for Vietnam to expand cooperation with South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.
Both sides agreed on the goal of increasing bilateral trade to US$1 billion in the near future; and encouraged practical measures such as trade facilitation, increased business connectivity, exchange of delegations for promotion, exhibitions, seminars, connecting supply and demand, and considering more favorable legal frameworks for investment and trade.
The target of $1 billion is not just a number. It symbolizes new confidence, new momentum, and new opportunities for cooperation between the business communities of the two countries. I propose that the relevant agencies of both countries coordinate closely, concretizing the agreements reached into practical programs, projects, and results for the people and businesses of both countries.
Potential priority sectors include agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, renewable energy, electronics and automotive components, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, telecommunications, logistics, infrastructure, tourism, services, and information technology. These are the areas in which Sri Lanka has expressed interest in attracting investment and cooperation with Vietnam.
Third, strengthen cooperation in agriculture, food security, and rural development.
Agriculture is a field very closely related to both countries. Vietnam is ready to share its experience with Sri Lanka, in the spirit of the 2025 Joint Declaration. I believe that agricultural cooperation between the two countries will not only create more economic value, but also contribute to ensuring food security, livelihoods for rural people, adapting to climate change, and promoting inclusive development.
Fourth, develop new drivers of cooperation: maritime economy, logistics, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and green growth.
Sri Lanka is strategically located in the Indian Ocean, serving as a crucial link in international shipping routes. Vietnam, a coastal nation in Southeast Asia, is promoting a sustainable maritime economic development strategy. The two countries can cooperate in logistics, seaports, transportation, maritime trade, marine environmental protection, disaster response, and the development of a blue maritime economy.
The two sides can also strengthen cooperation in digital transformation, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, digital government, digital public services, digital education, digital healthcare, renewable energy, and green finance.
The two countries have committed to cooperating in leveraging new technologies, including artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and digital transformation, to serve sustainable development and improve the quality of public services. These are areas not limited by geographical distance. Intelligence, technology, innovation, and data can become new bridges connecting Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Fifth, strengthen education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
The relationship between two countries can only be truly strong when it is nurtured not only by agreements and documents, but also by the understanding, exchange, and affection of the people of both nations.
Vietnam and Sri Lanka have many favorable conditions for developing cultural tourism, Buddhist tourism, heritage tourism, beach tourism, and ecotourism. Both sides agreed on the importance of air connectivity and encouraged airlines to open direct flights soon; they also promoted measures to facilitate tourism, business, and people-to-people exchanges.
The two countries also need to strengthen exchanges of students, scholars, researchers, artists, and young entrepreneurs; expand scholarships; promote cooperation between universities and research institutes; and organize Vietnamese cultural weeks in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan cultural weeks in Vietnam. Vietnam appreciates Sri Lanka’s willingness to share its experience in archaeology and cultural heritage preservation; and Vietnam also wishes to strengthen cooperation in Buddhist studies, culture, and history between the two countries.
I also hope that the Parliament, Government, and people of Sri Lanka will continue to pay attention to and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka to settle down, integrate well into local society, and make positive contributions to the friendly relations between the two nations.
Sixth, close coordination at regional and international forums.
In a volatile world, developing countries need to strengthen solidarity, cooperation, and a common voice. Vietnam and Sri Lanka both value multilateralism, international law, the role of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and regional cooperation mechanisms.
The two countries need to continue coordinating on issues of common interest such as peace, stability, security and maritime safety; combating transnational crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and illegal immigration; participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations; responding to climate change; promoting climate finance for developing countries; and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2025 Joint Statement also affirmed the importance of peace, stability, security, freedom of navigation, and respect for international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Vietnam welcomes Sri Lanka’s orientation towards strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asia and ASEAN. Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge for Sri Lanka to expand cooperation with ASEAN; and at the same time hopes that Sri Lanka will continue to be a bridge for Vietnam to strengthen relations with South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.
Small and medium-sized nations do not seek strength through confrontation. We seek strength through solidarity, through international law, through self-reliance, through quality governance, through the trust of our people, and through trust among nations.
Vietnam deeply understands the value of peace because we have experienced war. Vietnam understands the value of independence because we have fought a long and arduous struggle to gain and maintain it. Vietnam understands the value of development because we have risen from poverty. And Vietnam understands the value of friendship because, during our most difficult times, we received the invaluable support, solidarity, and affection of progressive people around the world, including the people of Sri Lanka.
Today, Vietnam aspires to transform traditional friendship into a genuine driving force for development; to translate political trust into concrete economic cooperation; to transform cultural exchange into profound understanding; and to turn shared aspirations into practical projects, programs, and benefits for the people of both countries.
I believe that with over half a century of diplomatic relations, with similarities in history, culture, and aspirations for development, with the determination of the leaders and the support of the people of both countries, the Vietnam-Sri Lanka relationship will enter a new phase of development that is deeper, more substantive, and more effective.
From Hanoi to Colombo, from the East Sea to the Indian Ocean, we share a common belief: peace is the foundation, the people are at the center, development is the goal, and friendship is the most enduring bridge connecting our two nations.
May the Sri Lankan Parliament continue to be a symbol of the will, wisdom, and aspirations of the Sri Lankan people.
Wishing the State, Government, and People of Sri Lanka peace, stability, sustainable development, and prosperity.
May the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka continue to develop, for the benefit of the people of both countries, and for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world.
