General Secretary and President To Lam (right) and Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. attend the Philippines-Viet Nam Business Forum in Manila, the Philippines, June 1, 2026. Photo: VGP

Addressing the event, President Marcos said the forum is an affirmation of the two countries' shared conviction that nations prosper when they work together, when they build trust, and when they create opportunities that allow their people to realize their full potential.

At a time when the global economy is being reshaped by rapid technological change, evolving supply chains, and emerging challenges, cooperation among like-minded partners has become increasingly essential, Marcos noted.

He said the ties between the countries were formally established during the Presidency of his father, President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. It was likewise through his mother, then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, that the foundations for peace, understanding, and cooperation between the two nations were first laid.

Over the decades, that relationship has steadily evolved. In 2015, it was elevated to a Strategic Partnership, making Viet Nam our only formal strategic partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Marcos said the Philippines and Viet Nam have built a relationship founded on economic resilience, mutual growth, and a shared commitment to a strong, sovereign, and integrated ASEAN.

Viet Nam has become an indispensable partner in trade and investment. Last year, Viet Nam was the Philippines’ 11th largest trading partner and the bilateral trade reached a remarkable US$7.17 billion.

The Philippines has also become a key contributor to Viet Nam’s technological advancement. In 2025, we exported over US$424 million in digital monolithic integrated circuits and over US$200 million in electric motors.

Speaking at the forum, General Secretary and President To Lam said the relationship between Viet Nam and the Philippines has been constantly consolidated on the basis of political trust, mutual respect, and shared interests for peace, stability, cooperation and development over the past five decades since the two countries set up diplomatic relations in 1976.

He called on both sides to create new breakthroughs in trade, investment and tourism cooperation in a bid to make these sectors important drivers of the bilateral ties.

It is time to advance bilateral economic cooperation to a new height, not just the scope but also the quality, the depth and the substance, To Lam stressed.

He also urged the two countries to boost mutual investment in agriculture, food processing, clean energy, logistics, suppporting industries, digital economy, and innovation; and shift from mere exchange of goods to co-production and co-participation in the regional supply chain.

Both sides should expand aviation, logistics and tourism connectivity and people-to-people exchanges as the two countries are dymanic economies in ASEAN and innovate economic cooperation mechanisms, said To Lam./.