The event was held as part of the official visit to Thailand by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President of Vietnam To Lam.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central
Committee and President of Vietnam To Lam attended the Thailand – Vietnam
Business Forum 2026 in Bangkok on May 28 afternoon, alongside Thai Prime
Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, senior officials from both countries and
representatives of nearly 700 Vietnamese and Thai businesses, according to a
report from the Vietnam News Agency.

The event was co-organized by Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance,
the Embassy of Vietnam in Thailand, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association.

Addressing the forum, General Secretary and President Lam
described the event as a key highlight of his official visit to Thailand,
reflecting the determination of both countries to deepen and substantively
advance their comprehensive strategic partnership.

If political relations provide the foundation of trust,
economic cooperation must provide the engine for development, he said. If the
governments of the two countries open the way, then businesses must take the
lead in transforming commitments into projects, potential into value, and
friendship into tangible benefits for the two countries’ people.

The Vietnamese leader stressed that Vietnam and Thailand are
two major ASEAN economies with longstanding friendship, increasingly deep
political trust and closely intertwined development interests. In 2026, they
mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The elevation of ties to a
comprehensive strategic partnership in May last year opened a new phase of
cooperation requiring greater vision, quality and effectiveness. Both sides are
currently implementing an action program for 2025–2030 aimed at translating new
strategic priorities into concrete outcomes.

General Secretary and President Lam noted that the world is
entering a period of profound restructuring, with supply chains being reorganized
and emerging technologies – including artificial intelligence, green
transition, the circular economy and energy security – reshaping national
competitiveness.

Against this backdrop, he said, Vietnam and Thailand must
move beyond traditional bilateral cooperation and jointly create a
complementary economic space in which the two countries enhance one another’s
position in ASEAN value chains, strengthen ASEAN resilience and contribute to
sustainable regional growth.

Highlighting the respective strengths of both countries,
Vietnam’s top leader said one possesses strong economic dynamism while the
other offers extensive experience and industrial depth. By combining these
advantages through a shared strategic vision, Vietnam and Thailand could
jointly develop supply chains, manufacturing and distribution hubs, trade and
service platforms, and new growth drivers for both countries and their bloc as
a whole.

He noted that bilateral economic cooperation has become
increasingly substantive and deep in recent years, but added that considerable
untapped potential remains. Trade continues to rely largely on the exchange of
goods, while two-way investment has yet to fully reflect the capabilities of
businesses in either country. Production linkages, digital finance, tourism and
services also remain fragmented, with the broader synergistic value of ASEAN
supply chains not yet fully realized.

The General Secretary and President called on businesses
from both countries to focus on building Vietnam–Thailand value chains within
the broader ASEAN framework. Cooperation, he said, should move beyond
conventional trade towards joint production, processing, distribution and
brand-building.

Drawing on complementary strengths in agriculture, food
production, consumer goods, retail, energy, tourism and services, both
countries could deepen cooperation in manufacturing, e-commerce, green
standards and traceability systems to create new products, supply chains and
ASEAN-branded value.

He also urged the two countries to strengthen three key
areas of connectivity – production, infrastructure and transformation
connectivity – in order to establish a more integrated and complementary
economic space. Such linkages, he said, would enable Vietnam and Thailand to
evolve beyond a standard trading relationship into mutually reinforcing
components of ASEAN’s emerging production and services network.

Economic cooperation should also have a direct impact on
people’s daily lives through tourism, services and digital finance, the leader
said. He called for stronger connectivity in air travel, joint tourism routes,
retail, cuisine, culture and education, alongside expanded cross-border QR
payments, e-wallets, digital commerce and digital finance systems.

He proposed that, following the forum, both sides quickly
develop a list of priority projects for 2026–2030 covering logistics,
agriculture, food processing, clean energy, digital commerce, tourism and
workforce training.

General Secretary and President Lam reaffirmed that Vietnam
views the success of foreign investors as part of its own success and values
the long-term, serious and effective presence of Thai businesses in Vietnam,
describing them as important bridges between the two economies and business communities.

He said Vietnam is becoming an increasingly stable,
transparent and predictable investment destination, while continuing to improve
institutions, infrastructure and human resources, accelerate digital and green
transition, streamline administrative procedures and protect the legitimate
rights and interests of investors.

Vietnam–Thailand cooperation, he added, should ultimately be
measured by concrete projects, new technologies, new jobs, higher value-added
products and tangible benefits for citizens, thereby injecting fresh vitality
into a dynamic, resilient and connected ASEAN.

In his opening remarks, Thai PM Anutin stressed that amid
growing global complexity and change, ASEAN member states must work more closely
together and rely more heavily on one another to strengthen resilience and
respond to external challenges. Thailand and Vietnam, he said, play important
roles in driving the region’s economic development.

PM Anutin noted that Thailand and Vietnam maintain close and
interdependent ties, with both countries benefiting from each other’s growth.
Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, while Vietnam
is Thailand’s second-largest ASEAN trading partner. Bilateral trade has reached
nearly $24 billion and is approaching the $25 billion target. Thailand is also
Vietnam’s eighth-largest foreign investor.

The Thai PM said the success of bilateral cooperation would
not be possible without the strong role played by the private sector, which he
described as a key driver of trade, investment and economic connectivity
between the two countries. He expressed his hope that bilateral friendship
would continue to flourish and contribute to sustainable prosperity for both
nations.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Vietnamese and Thai
leaders, together with senior officials from both countries, witnessed an
announcement by Vietnam Airlines regarding the launch of a new direct route
linking Ho Chi Minh City and Phuket. The route will begin operations in July
using Airbus A321 aircraft with four flights per week, aimed at boosting
tourism, exchanges and trade between the two countries.

Vietjet Air also officially announced a fleet development
program involving 50 Boeing 737-8 aircraft for Vietjet Thailand to mark the
50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

The two leaders also witnessed the exchange of 17 strategic
memoranda of understanding between Vietnamese and Thai businesses.

VNA-