On official visit, Lula seeks to deepen ties with Vietnam
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, for the second leg of his trip to Asia. The visit aims to discuss an action plan to raise diplomatic ties to a global strategic partnership. Among the Southeast Asian nations, Indonesia is Brazil’s only strategic partner.
He will be received by President Luong Cuong on Friday (Mar. 28). Throughout the day, the Brazilian leader will have other bilateral meetings, including with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The visit continues on Saturday (29).
Vietnam has become the fifth top consumer of Brazilian agricultural products. In 2024, the two nations recorded a trade volume of $7.7 billion, with a Brazilian surplus of $415 million.
The goal, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations reported, is to reach $15 billion in trade volume in a broader context of Brazil’s closer ties with Southeast Asian nations.
In this sense, the ministry went on, the elevation of relations with Vietnam to strategic level should make it possible to deepen political dialog, strengthen economic cooperation, and boost the flow of trade and investment.
This is his third meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh since President Lula took office for the third time. The two met in September 2023 in Brasília and in November 2024 at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
