ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing Concludes State Visit to Vietnam

The two nations agreed to bolster cooperation in a host of areas, including defense, investment, trade, and digital technologies.

Myanmar’s military-appointed President Min Aung Hlaing yesterday wound up a three-day visit to Vietnam, during which he and Hanoi’s top leaders agreed to expand cooperation across a broad front.

The former general arrived in Vietnam on Friday, part of a diplomatic campaign aimed at consolidating ties with regional governments and normalizing relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In addition to meeting top leaders including President To Lam and Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Min Aung Hlaing also held meetings with top Vietnamese firms such as VinFast, a local EV manufacturer, ​and the military-run telecoms group Viettel, which operates Mytel, one of Myanmar’s major telecom operators.

According to a Vietnamese government statement quoted by Reuters, a key focus of the talks between Lam and Min Aung Hlaing was defense and security cooperation, which the two leaders elevated to a key pillar of bilateral ties.

In particular, the two leaders “agreed to expand cooperation in military training, exchanges between young officers, search-and-rescue operations and ​disaster response, while stepping up information sharing and coordination ​against crimes,” the statement said.

“Vietnam stands ⁠ready to share its experience in national development, ensuring economic ​security and fostering sustainable growth,” the statement quoted Lam as saying during the talks.

Economics and trade were also high on the agenda. Trade between the two nations has fallen in recent years, as Myanmar has become engulfed in civil conflict. According to statistics cited by the Associated Press, two-way trade totaled $853 million in 2020 but then fell to $590 million in 2025.

Speaking at the Myanmar-Viet Nam Business Forum in Hanoi yesterday, Min Aung Hlaing called “for greater bilateral economic cooperation and increased Vietnamese investment in Myanmar,” the Global New Light of Myanmar reported. In particular, he said that........

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