After the ceremony, the two PMs held talks. They are expected to witness the signing of some cooperation agreements between their countries’ ministries and sectors and meet with the press to inform them of their talks’ outcomes.

He and Chinh will also visit the Temple of Literature and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel review the guard of honour - Photo: VNA

In addition, PM Bettel will meet with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and take part in some activities in Ho Chi Minh City, including a Vietnam - Luxembourg business forum and a meeting with the city’s leaders.

This is Xavier Bettel's first official visit outside Europe in 2023, and the first by a Luxembourg PM to Vietnam in over 20 years. The visit, which comes just five months after PM Chinh’s official visit to Luxembourg in December 2022, is also the first high-level diplomatic activity on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Luxembourg.

Vietnam and Luxembourg set up diplomatic ties on November 15, 1973. As of March 2023, Luxembourg had invested 2.6 billion USD in 64 projects in Vietnam, ranking third among the 24 EU members and 17th among the 139 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

In 2022, bilateral trade stood at 187.1 million USD, rising 69% year on year. The figure included 130.14 million USD worth of Vietnam’s exports and 56.96 million USD worth of imports from Luxembourg.

During PM Chinh’s official visit to Luxembourg in December 2022, the two sides inked a memorandum of understanding on promoting trade and business dialogue between the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, along with a cooperation deal between the Vietnam Stock Exchange and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.