Vietnamese president to visit Philippines for 3 days

MANILA, Philippines - Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang will embark on a three-day state visit to the Philippines starting Wednesday to further strengthen his country’s ties with Manila.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sang will arrive on Wednesday and stay in the country until Friday on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Vietnam.

Sang will meet with President Aquino on Oct. 26 to review the progress in bilateral relations made since the latter’s visit to Hanoi exactly a year ago and exchange views on mutual concerns.

Aquino will host a state dinner in honor of the visiting leader.

It will be Aquino’s first meeting with Sang, who was elected by the Vietnamese National Assembly only last July.

While in Manila, Sang is scheduled to unveil a bust of the Vietnamese Socialist Republic’s founder, President Ho Chi Minh, at the ASEAN Park in Intramuros.

He will also pay a visit to the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños in Laguna, preside over a business forum, and hold meetings with other Philippine officials.

Both governments consider the visit as a high point in marking 35 years of growing relations between the two countries.