Vietnamese President To Lam made this remark during his speech at a banquet in honor of his Timorese counterpart, Jose Ramos-Horta, who is on his second visit to Hanoi as a head of State.

Ramos-Horta’s second visit here reflects the warm feelings of the leaders and people of Timor-Leste, and creates a new boost so that bilateral ties can grow more effectively, Lam said.

Vietnam, he said later, is proud to be one of the first countries in the region to recognize Timor-Leste’s independence, achieved in May 2002, and establish diplomatic relations with it on July 28 that year.

Lam warned in his Thursday speech that amid a complex and uncertain global scenario, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, and other countries in the region must remain united to overcome challenges and seize development opportunities.

He expressed his confidence that, with the strong political will and great determination of the leaders and peoples of both countries, bilateral relations will develop, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in Southeast Asia and the world.

Ramos-Horta, in turn, pointed to Vietnam as a model that Timor-Leste and many other emerging economies aspire to follow and ratified his interest in continuing learning from this nation’s experiences and successes.

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