Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1780276862788HJsM-HwboAAwjIS.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Marcos Vietnamese President To Lam in Malacañang. The two Southeast Asian leaders are expected to discuss deeper cooperation on multiple fronts, including defense, agriculture and tourism.<em> 📷: MPC Pool</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed Vietnamese President To Lam in Malacañang on Monday, the latest effort of Southeast Asia’s fourth and fifth largest economies to boost bilateral relations on various fronts.</p><p>The Vietnamese leader — whose country has also actively fended off China in their waters — arrived in the Philippines’ seat of power around 9 a.m., fresh from his weekend attendance at the 2026 Shangri la Dialogue in Singapore, where he underscored the need to “shift from passive response to proactive shaping” of rules to veer away from “managing crises after they erupt to mitigating risks before they escalate.”</p><p>Malacañang earlier said that the visit of To Lam — who is also the General Secretary of Vietnam’s Central Committee of the Communist Party — is “historic” as it marks “the first State Visit of Vietnam&#x27;s party leader to the Philippines.”</p><p>“At the bilateral meeting, it is expected that the discussions of the two leaders will reflect on the five decades of robust cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in an earlier statement.</p><p>“The two leaders will also seek to reinforce the relationship, centered on more dynamic collaboration in trade and investment, food security, defense and maritime cooperation, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges,” it read.</p><p>It also comes “at the cusp of the 50th Anniversary of the Philippines and Vietnam Diplomatic relations and a decade of the two countries&#x27; Strategic Partnership,” the PCO said.</p><p>“Vietnam remains as the Philippines sole Strategic Partner in Southeast Asia, founded on the longstanding and productive engagements among officials, the private sector and at the grassroots level,” the Palace said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ECONOMY AND TRADE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Last month, the Philippines committed to import 1.5 million metric tons of rice from Vietnam until 2027 to ensure that there would be sufficient supply of the staple grain.</p><p>Vietnam outpaced the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s 4th largest economy after it registered a $476.3-billion gross domestic product in 2024, while the Philippines dropped to 5th place with a $461.6-billion GDP, according to data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat.</p><p>In terms of growth in 2024, Vietnam soared as the region’s brightest spot with 7.1 percent, while the Philippines took the second spot with 5.7 percent, ASEAN data showed.</p><p>The Philippines and Vietnam’s total trade is pegged at $6.18 billion in 2022 with exports between the two countries valued at $1.72 billion, while imports estimated at  $4.46 billion, according to data from the PCO.</p><p>As of 2022, there are some 7,000 Filipinos in Vietnam, sending some $13.86 million in remittances to the Philippines annually, government data showed.</p><p>In 2024, Marcos traveled to Vietnam for a state visit, where the two countries committed strengthening supply chains and bilateral relations.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uVnCz0jN6Bk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed Vietnamese President To Lam in Malacañang on Monday, the latest effort of Southeast Asia’s fourth and fifth largest economies to boost bilateral relations on various fronts.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed Vietnamese President To Lam in Malacañang on Monday, the latest effort of Southeast Asia’s fourth and fifth largest economies to boost bilateral relations on various fronts.

Marcos, Vietnamese President To Lam deepen bilateral ties in Malacañang

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Marcos, Vietnamese President To Lam deepen bilateral ties in Malacañang

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 01, 2026 09:23 AM PHT

|

Updated June 01, 2026 09:42 AM PHT

Read More:

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

To Lam

Vietnam

diplomacy

bilateral relations

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