Vietnam and the Philippines will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2026. (Photo: VNA)

The state visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his spouse from January 29-30 will be a milestone in the Philippines-Vietnam bilateral relationship and contribute to deepening the relationship between the two countries, said Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre.

Speaking to the media ahead of the visit, the ambassador said that it is the first state visit to Vietnam by President Marcos although he has met Vietnamese officials previously.

This visit will help strengthen the closeness between the Philippine President and Vietnam's highest-ranking leaders, the ambassador said, adding that it’s also very important in promoting the friendship and partnership between the two countries established in 1976 with great contributions by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., father of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr..

Vietnam and the Philippines will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in the next two years. In 2025, they will mark the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.

Over the past four decades, the partnership and friendship between Vietnam and the Philippines witnessed good developments with high-level visits by the heads of state and leaders of the two countries, including the upcoming visit by President Marcos.

Previously, the two countries also exchanged delegations at the ministerial and official levels. At the 10th meeting of the two countries’ joint commission on bilateral cooperation in August 2023, the two sides agreed to effectively deploy bilateral cooperation mechanisms including the Joint Permanent Working Group on Maritime and Ocean Concerns, the Joint Sub-Committee on Trade, the Joint Working Group on Agriculture, and the Joint Working Group in Fisheries.

The two sides agreed to develop an action programme to implement their strategic partnership for the 2025-2030 period; strengthen defence-security cooperation; and strive to soon bring their two-way trade turnover to 10 billion USD.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in other important fields such as agriculture, culture, tourism, education, transportation, science and technology, environment, and people-to-people exchange. They also agreed to continue to coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, especially ASEAN and the UN.

The Philippines is ready to cooperate closely with the Party, State, Government, and people of Vietnam to make long-term contributions to the bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Regarding the significance of the upcoming Vietnam visit by President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., the Filipino diplomat said that the visit is an important milestone and will open up many opportunities for the two countries to further deepen their relationship for the benefit of their people, and for the peace and prosperity of the region.

Meanwhile, assessing Vietnam’s current position in the region, Ambassador Montealegre said that Vietnam has made many contributions to the region.

The Philippines appreciates the great economic achievements that Vietnam made in 2023 despite many challenges in the global economy, he said.

With "bamboo diplomacy", Vietnam has maintained solid diplomatic relations at the bilateral, regional, and international levels, which help affirm its role and protect its interests in the region, he noted.