Vietnam and Timor-Leste have signed a visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders, marking a major step in strengthening bilateral ties.
Following an official welcome ceremony on June 9, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung held talks with Timor-Leste Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão in Hanoi.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung congratulated Timor-Leste on its important achievements, particularly its official accession to the ASEAN family. He described the milestone as a significant contribution to ASEAN's unity, centrality and vitality.
The Vietnamese leader expressed confidence that, with its strong commitment to regional integration, Timor-Leste would soon participate fully and effectively in ASEAN's cooperation mechanisms.
Toward a new chapter in bilateral relations
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão at the official welcome ceremony.
Prime Minister Gusmão thanked Vietnam for its steadfast support throughout Timor-Leste's journey toward ASEAN membership.
He said Vietnam has been not only a trusted friend but also an effective and close development partner of Timor-Leste.
The two prime ministers agreed that Vietnam and Timor-Leste possess significant complementary strengths and untapped potential for deeper cooperation.
They pledged to strengthen political trust through high-level exchanges and contacts, while effectively implementing existing agreements and cooperation frameworks, including the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation.
Both sides also agreed to work toward elevating bilateral relations to a new level ahead of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2027.
The leaders welcomed the signing of cooperation documents during the visit, including agreements on visa exemption, education and information and communications, which are expected to provide a strong foundation for expanding people-to-people exchanges.
Expanding trade and investment cooperation
Regarding economic, trade and investment ties, the two prime ministers agreed that both countries should make better use of their complementary advantages.
They discussed accelerating the ratification and implementation of a bilateral trade agreement and promoting cooperation in rice, agricultural products, seafood, textiles, footwear, essential consumer goods, telecommunications, digital transformation, infrastructure, agriculture and services.
Prime Minister Gusmão called on Vietnam to continue supplying products in which it has competitive strengths, particularly rice, to help ensure food security in Timor-Leste.
He also praised Vietnamese businesses operating in Timor-Leste, especially Viettel's local brand Telemor, for their contributions to developing the country's digital infrastructure and connectivity.
Timor-Leste expressed its desire to welcome more Vietnamese investment in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure development and natural resource exploitation.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed that the two countries accelerate negotiations on an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and explore the establishment of a bilateral mechanism on economic, trade and investment cooperation to better support businesses.
The leaders also agreed to broaden cooperation in defense and security, agriculture, fisheries, food security, education and training, human resource development, culture, tourism, sports, transport connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.
Both sides emphasized cooperation on sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation, the blue economy and sustainable fisheries, including aquaculture, fishing and seafood processing.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung reaffirmed Vietnam's readiness to share its development and international integration experience, support human resource training and dispatch experts to assist Timor-Leste in relevant sectors.
Visa exemption agreement signed
The two sides witness the exchange of cooperation documents, including agreements on education, information and communications, and visa exemption for ordinary passport holders.
In the presence of the two prime ministers, officials from both countries exchanged several cooperation documents, including:
A Memorandum of Understanding on higher education cooperation between Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training and Timor-Leste's Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture.
A Memorandum of Understanding on education cooperation between the education ministries of both countries.
An agreement on visa exemption for holders of ordinary passports.
A cooperation memorandum between the Vietnam News Agency and Timor-Leste's TATOLI News Agency.
The visa exemption agreement is expected to facilitate travel, strengthen tourism and business links, and deepen friendship between the two nations.
Vietnam praised as a model of development
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man welcomes Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão.
Also on June 9, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Prime Minister Gusmão.
Welcoming the Timor-Leste leader, Chairman Tran Thanh Man described the visit as an important milestone that would further strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Gusmão reiterated that Timor-Leste highly values its relationship with Vietnam and expressed gratitude for Vietnam's consistent support during its ASEAN accession process.
He said he was impressed by Vietnam's rapid development and described the country as a model of resilience, self-reliance and sustainable growth after war.
The Timor-Leste leader expressed a desire to learn from Vietnam's development strategy, innovation mindset, institutional reforms and efforts to harness domestic strengths in building a resilient economy.
The two leaders welcomed the visa exemption agreement and agreed that it would facilitate people-to-people exchanges while boosting economic, trade and tourism cooperation.
Chairman Tran Thanh Man noted that bilateral relations have continued to develop positively since diplomatic ties were established in 2002.
Two-way trade maintained steady growth and reached USD 18.7 million in 2025, while considerable potential remains in agriculture, oil and gas, fisheries, construction, culture and tourism.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man holds talks with Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão with delegates from both countries.
He affirmed that Vietnam's National Assembly would continue creating favorable conditions for the conclusion and implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements.
On parliamentary cooperation, Chairman Tran Thanh Man proposed increased exchanges between senior leaders, parliamentary bodies and legislators, along with greater sharing of legislative and oversight experience and closer coordination at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums.
Prime Minister Gusmão highly valued the role of the two legislatures in creating a favorable legal framework for bilateral cooperation and called for stronger exchanges between the parliaments of both countries.
He also expressed hope for more substantive cooperation with Vietnam in trade, investment, agriculture, education and training, human resource development, digital transformation and people-to-people exchanges, while maintaining close coordination within ASEAN and other regional and international forums.
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