Official welcome ceremony held in Astana for Vietnamese Party leader

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev chaired an official welcome ceremony on May 6 morning for General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, who are on a three-day state visit to the Central Asian country.

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Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Party General Secretary To Lam (right) inspect the guards-of-honor.

At the welcome ceremony, the two leaders introduced members of their respective high-level delegations. They stood on the honor platform as the national anthems of both countries are played, and then reviewed the guards-of-honor.

Following the ceremony, the two leaders had a restricted meeting, and led the respective high-level delegations to hold talks.

Vietnam and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties on June 29, 1992. Since then, their traditional friendship has steadily strengthened. Bilateral trade has been growing though the volume remains modest. In 2024, two-way trade reached 800 million USD, up 99% from 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, the figure hit 146.3 million USD, an increase of 18.4% year on year.

This marks the first state visit by a key Vietnamese leader to Kazakhstan in 13 years and the first ever by a CPV General Secretary.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (right) welcomes Party General Secretary To Lam.

The visit demonstrates Vietnam’s consistent policy and strong commitment to enhancing friendship and comprehensive cooperation with traditional partners in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, including Kazakhstan.

Source: VNA