At the invitation of Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse, together with a high-level Vietnamese delegation, will make a state visit to Singapore from May 29 to 31.

During the same trip, at the invitation of Dr. Bastian Giegerich, Director-General and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), To Lam will attend and deliver a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 29.

This will be the second visit to Singapore by Party Chief and President To Lam and his spouse. In March 2025, the Vietnamese leader visited the city-state, during which the two countries upgraded bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s leading security forum. First launched in 2002, it serves as a platform for direct diplomacy among top defense officials from across the region and the world. The forum is organized annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The conference features keynote speeches, debates and closed-door exchanges on security issues among delegates.

The annual event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the Shangri-La Dialogue returned with its largest gathering in years.

Over the years, the forum has provided an open and valuable platform for participants to exchange views on key defense and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Vietnam’s defense minister has regularly attended and spoken at the forum.

This year’s conference, scheduled to take place in Singapore from May 29 to 31, will bring together defense ministers, military leaders and senior defense officials, as well as business executives and security experts from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and other regions to discuss major security challenges.

This year also marks the first time a General Secretary and President of Vietnam will attend and speak at the forum.

Dr. Bastian Giegerich said that in the first weeks after assuming the role of Vietnam’s head of state, To Lam committed to sharing Vietnam’s perspectives as an emerging strategic nation and engaging in dialogue with leading global defense policymakers.

“We are honored that General Secretary and President To Lam has chosen the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue as the forum to do so,” Bastian Giegerich said.

Tran Thuong