Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien welcomes Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi. Photo: Minh Duc/VNA

As soon as he touched down at the airport, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg visited Quang Ninh province and had a tour of Ha Long Bay, the world natural heritage site. He thanked local leaders for the warm welcome and expressed his pleasure to visit Quang Ninh for the first time and his impression of the beauty of Ha Long Bay as well as the locals’ friendliness and hospitality.

On Thursday, the Luxembourg Prime Minister will attend an official welcome ceremony and hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. The two Prime Ministers will witness the signing of cooperation documents of the ministries and sectors of the two countries and hold press briefing to announce the talks’ outcomes.

Prime Minister Chinh and Prime Minister Bettel will visit the Temple of Literature and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi. Bettel will meet with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and visit Ho Chi Minh City where he will attend a business forum and work with the municipal leaders.

This is Bettel’s first official visit outside of Europe this year and the first visit to Vietnam by a Luxembourg Prime Minister in more than 20 years. The high-level visit opens diplomatic activities to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Luxembourg in 2023.

After Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Luxembourg in December last year, this official visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is an opportunity for the two sides to once again affirm their mutual respect and determination to elevate their friendship and comprehensive cooperation to a new height.

Accompanying the Prime Minister of Luxembourg are 30 leading enterprises in finance, banking, logistics, and energy transformation to seek investment and business cooperation opportunities.