General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, together with a high-level Vietnamese delegation, arrived at Udon Thani International Airport in Udon Thani province on the afternoon of May 27, officially beginning their visit to Thailand.

Welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam, his spouse and the Vietnamese delegation at the airport were Thai Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Watcharaphon Khaokham and leaders of Udon Thani province.

Representing Vietnam at the airport reception were Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung and his spouse, Vietnamese Consul General in Khon Kaen Dinh Hoang Linh and his spouse, along with staff members from the Vietnamese Embassy, the Consulate General and members of the Vietnamese community in Thailand.

Immediately after arriving at Udon Thani International Airport, General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse, accompanied by the high-level Vietnamese delegation, visited the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site to offer incense in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh and meet with the Vietnamese community in Thailand.

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Officials from Udon Thani province welcome General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse at Udon Thani International Airport. Photo: VNA

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Staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy and Consulate General, along with the Vietnamese community in Thailand, welcome General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse. Photo: VNA

Nearly a century ago, this region was closely associated with President Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary activities during the 1928-1929 period. In northeastern Thailand, President Ho Chi Minh lived, organized revolutionary movements within the overseas Vietnamese community and planted the earliest seeds of Vietnam-Thailand solidarity.

Nearly 100 years later, the visit by Vietnam’s highest-ranking leader to the same land carries strong symbolic significance - connecting historical, cultural and community ties with today’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Thailand at the regional level.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, preparations at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Udon Thani had been actively carried out by local Vietnamese residents ahead of the visit.

Vu Manh Hung, a member of the memorial site’s management board, said: “This visit carries very special meaning for the Vietnamese community in Thailand in general and for overseas Vietnamese in Udon Thani in particular.”

According to the Vietnamese Association in Udon Thani, hundreds of overseas Vietnamese registered to attend the meeting with General Secretary and President To Lam.

Luong Xuan Hoa, chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Udon Thani, said the presence of Vietnam’s top Party and State leader represented a tremendous source of encouragement for the Vietnamese community.

Most members of the Vietnamese community in Thailand were born in Thailand, particularly those under the age of 80. The community was deeply moved that, for the first time, a General Secretary and President of Vietnam had come to visit overseas Vietnamese in Udon Thani. For many, it is considered a great honor and an opportunity they do not want to miss.

Udon Thani is regarded as the “capital” of Thailand’s Vietnamese-origin community, home to more than 60,000 people of Vietnamese descent. It is also the province with the largest concentration of overseas Vietnamese in Thailand.

The province is also home to the world’s first Vietnam Town. Located on Soi 2, Srisuk Road in Udon Thani city, Vietnam Town has become a cultural hub for Vietnamese communities across northeastern Thailand, preserving Vietnamese traditions and culture while also serving as a tourist attraction.

Today, the Thai-Vietnamese community in Udon Thani continues to grow stronger and plays an increasingly important role in the province’s social life.

Tran Thuong