President Min Aung Hlaing and his wife arrived in Vietnam on September 4 for a three-day official visit, underscoring efforts to deepen bilateral ties in politics, trade, and security.
Vietnam and Myanmar strengthen friendship
Vietnam and Myanmar share a long-standing traditional friendship established by President Ho Chi Minh and national hero Aung San and nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries. The two countries share many cultural and historical similarities, particularly their traditions of fighting for national independence.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a number of notable bilateral activities have taken place since the beginning of 2026, including the presentation of credentials by the Myanmar ambassador to General Secretary and President To Lam and by the Vietnamese ambassador to Myanmar to President Min Aung Hlaing.
Myanmar highly values Vietnam’s support in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, particularly the deployment of a professional rescue team of more than 100 members and US$300,000 in aid to help address the aftermath of the earthquake in March 2025. Major political parties in Myanmar now highly appreciate Vietnam’s position and approach toward Myanmar and wish to strengthen ties with Vietnam, according to the ministry.
At the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Myanmar Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation, co-chaired by Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe on Aug. 26, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation through Party, State, Government, National Assembly, local and people-to-people channels, toward the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership in 2017-2027.
At the meeting, the two sides identified a number of key cooperation orientations for the coming period, prioritizing areas that match the development needs and goals of each country, including infrastructure, information technology, consumer goods manufacturing, agriculture and digital transformation.
Both countries target US$1 billion in bilateral trade
In the first six months of 2026, bilateral trade reached US$336 million, up 26 percent from the same period in 2025. Vietnam’s main imports from Myanmar included vegetables and fruits, rubber, electronic products and components, agricultural products and seafood. Vietnam’s main exports included fertilizers, materials for the textile and garment industry, means of transport, machinery, equipment and spare parts.
In terms of investment, Vietnam currently has 107 valid investment projects in Myanmar with total registered capital of more than US$1.4 billion, ranking fifth among 87 countries and territories where Vietnamese businesses have invested abroad. Several major Vietnamese companies have operated successfully and made significant contributions to Myanmar’s development, including the Mytel joint venture in telecommunications and digital infrastructure, and HAGL Myanmar Center/Thaco, a complex of real estate, hotels, offices and commercial centers in Yangon.
At the ceremony to present credentials to General Secretary and President To Lam on July 6, Myanmar Ambassador to Vietnam Wai Linn expressed a desire to promote cooperation between the two countries in areas with significant potential, including agriculture, telecommunications, electric vehicles and tourism.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Myanmar Nguyen Anh Duc, Myanmar remains a potential market for Vietnamese businesses in trade and investment. Along with improvements in the political environment and the potential and prospects for cooperation in the Myanmar market, Vietnamese businesses also have favorable conditions as the Myanmar Government continues to attach importance to strengthening friendship and is keen to boost economic, trade and investment cooperation with Vietnam.
In addition, goods imported from Vietnam are quite compatible with the preferences of Myanmar consumers. The two countries are currently working toward achieving the target of US$1 billion in bilateral trade as soon as possible.
Alongside economic and trade development, Ambassador Nguyen Anh Duc said the two sides are seeking to continue making defense and security cooperation more effective, gradually promoting delegation exchanges, expanding training cooperation, and organizing exchanges among young officers as well as cultural and military sports exchanges. They also seek to respond to non-traditional security challenges such as rescue and relief operations, disaster recovery, bomb and mine clearance, humanitarian assistance and military medicine.
