General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly hosted an official welcome ceremony at the National Assembly building this morning for Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Kyu Kyu Hla during their visit to Vietnam.

The national flags of Vietnam and Myanmar lined both sides of Doc Lap Street, fluttering in the cool morning weather.

The motorcade escorting the Myanmar president and his wife entered the grounds of the National Assembly building. General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife were waiting on the red carpet to warmly welcome President Min Aung Hlaing and Kyu Kyu Hla.

Children from Hanoi stepped forward to present the president and his wife with bouquets of fresh flowers.

To the sound of welcoming music, General Secretary and President To Lam and President Min Aung Hlaing stepped onto the ceremonial podium as the military band played the national anthems of the two countries.

The two leaders then stepped down from the podium, bowed before the military flag and inspected the honor guard of the Vietnam People’s Army. They subsequently introduced members of their respective high-level delegations attending the welcome ceremony.

Vietnamese officials attending the ceremony included Gen. Phan Van Giang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense; Gen. Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Public Security; Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung; Nguyen Hai Ninh, Chief of the Party Central Committee Office; Le Khanh Hai, Chairman of the Presidential Office; Finance Minister Ngo Van Tuan; Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong; and To An Xo, assistant to the General Secretary and President and head of the Office of the General Secretary, among others.

At the conclusion of the official welcome ceremony, the two leaders returned to the ceremonial podium to watch a welcoming march by the honor guard of the Vietnam People’s Army.

Following the ceremony, General Secretary and President To Lam and Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing held talks.

Earlier, President Min Aung Hlaing and his delegation laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum. They also laid a wreath at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs on Bac Son Street.

Tran Thuong - Pham Hai