Vietnam President to visit Sri Lanka tomorrow, open embassy in Colombo

The President of Vietnam, Truong Tan Sang, accompanied by his wife and a high-powered business delegation is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from October 13-15 on an invitation extended by his Sri Lankan counterpart President Mahinda Rajapaksa , the Ministry of External Affairs announced today.



The high-level entourage of President Sang will include the Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister, several deputy ministers and a 60 - member business delegation.

This is the first state visit by a Vietnamese President to Sri Lanka since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1970.

President Rajapaksa is expected to receive his visiting counterpart at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake. The visiting President will be accorded a guard of honour by the Sri Lanka Navy, followed by a 21 gun salute.

During his visit, President Sang is expected to hold talks with President Rajapaksa and several ministers on enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations.

At the conclusion of discussions, several agreements and MoUs are expected to be signed in a range of sectors such as political, defence, investment, finance, education & training, machinery manufacturing etc., the Ministry said in a statement.

On the last day of his tour, October 15, President Sang is expected to open a Vietnam Embassy in Colombo with the participation of Sri Lankan Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne as the chief guest.

"This visit will mark an important milestone in Sri Lanka - Viet Nam relations and would pave the way for greater economic cooperation between the two countries," the Ministry said.