Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a welcome ceremony for his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi before noon on Monday.

The Cambodian leader arrived in Hanoi on Monday morning, starting his two-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of PM Chinh.

This is the Cambodian leader’s first visit to neighboring Vietnam since he assumed office in August.

He visited Vietnam in August last year when he was Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

PM Chinh met PM Manet on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Jakarta, Indonesia in September, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Saudi Arabia in October. 

After receiving a bouquet of fresh flowers from Hanoian children, Cambodian PM Hun Manet and his Vietnamese counterpart walked on a red carpet and reviewed the guard of honor at the ceremony.

The two nations’ top officials shook hands and exchanged warm greetings before they stepped onto the honorary stage to start the formalities.

After the event, the two prime ministers took a stroll along a path to the headquarters of the government to hold their talks.

The Cambodian prime minister was set to meet Vietnam’s Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Vo Van Thuong, and Chairman of the lawmaking National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue on Monday afternoon.

Hun Manet’s Vietnam visit is his first trip to a Southeast Asian nation since he took office, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sok Chenda Sophea told reporters before the trip.

His trip to Vietnam is meant to foster the two nations’ ties in various fields.

Two-way trade reached a record of more than US$10 billion last year.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!