The national flag unfurls over the Ba Dinh Square as the national anthem plays. Photo: VNA   

On the occasion of the 81st anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2, 1945–2026), leaders of India, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Brunei and Myanmar, as well as the United Nations, have sent messages and letters of congratulations to Vietnamese Party and State leaders.

Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah sent congratulatory messages to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam, and Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, while Speaker of the Legislative Council Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman Taib sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man.

Brunei’s leaders spoke highly of the strong friendship, mutual trust and understanding between the two countries, affirming that the Vietnam-Brunei Comprehensive Partnership has continued to develop positively, particularly in trade, energy, defence and people-to-people exchanges, bringing practical benefits to both peoples.

They expressed their wish to further strengthen cooperation with Vietnam towards the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027, and affirmed that Brunei will support and closely coordinate with Vietnam during the latter’s hosting of the APEC Year 2027, contributing to maintaining peace, stability and security in the region, while promoting cooperation between the two legislative bodies.

On this occasion, President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto sent congratulatory letters to General Secretary and President Lam, and PM Hung.

Prabowo affirmed that Vietnam-Indonesia relations have grown strongly over more than seven decades on the basis of mutual trust and respect, with the two countries working together to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

He expressed his belief that, building on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the longstanding friendship between the two countries will continue to advance, opening up new, innovative, inclusive and mutually beneficial avenues for cooperation, and serving as a solid foundation for the two countries to expand collaboration across various fields for the practical benefit of their peoples.

General Secretary and President Lam and PM Hung also received congratulations from President of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing.

The Myanmar leader expressed the wish for the two countries to enhance close cooperation to further promote their Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership. He also congratulated Vietnam on successfully fulfilling its role as Chair of the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) cooperation mechanism in 2026 and pledged support for Vietnam within mechanisms of which the two countries are members, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), CLMV and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam sent a congratulatory letter to General Secretary and President Lam; Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sent a congratulatory message to PM Hung; and Speaker of the Parliament Seah Kian Peng sent a congratulatory message to NA President Man.

In their letters and messages, the Singaporean leaders congratulated Vietnam on its achievements and affirmed their high regard for the friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. They highlighted growing political trust, multifaceted cooperation and increasingly close people-to-people exchanges.

They also emphasised the significance of General Secretary and President Lam’s state visit to Singapore in May and the first Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Dialogue in August, saying these events have helped create fresh momentum, deepen political trust, and expand cooperation and connectivity in new areas, and contributed to the effective and substantive implementation of the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Singaporean leaders expressed their wish that the two sides continue to coordinate closely in 2027, when Singapore assumes the ASEAN Chair and Vietnam hosts APEC.

King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn sent a congratulatory message to General Secretary and President Lam, while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul sent a congratulatory message to his Vietnamese counterpart.

In their messages, the Thail leaders extended their sincere congratulations and best wishes to Vietnam’s leaders and people, wishing the country peace, success and prosperity. They spoke highly of Vietnam’s notable socio-economic development achievements and its positive contributions to regional growth and prosperity.

They also highlighted Vietnam’s contributions to peace and prosperity in ASEAN, expressing confidence that the longstanding friendship between the two countries will continue to be strengthened and that their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and bilateral cooperation will grow increasingly substantive and extensive.

On this occasion, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also sent a congratulatory letter to his Vietnamese counterpart, in which he expressed his pleasure at the progress achieved by the two countries since the establishment of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024 and voiced his wish to continue working closely with Vietnam’s high-level leaders to further advance bilateral relations.

Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent congratulatory letters to General Secretary and President Lam. They emphasised that his State visit to India in May this year had contributed to strengthening the long-standing ties between the people of the two countries and opening up new avenues for bilateral cooperation.

The Indian leaders affirmed that the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is the result of the trust cultivated by the two countries over decades, and expressed their wish to continue close coordination to elevate Vietnam–India relations to a new level, bringing practical benefits to their people.

In his congratulatory message to Vietnam's top leader, President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Lee Jae Myung congratulated Vietnam and spoke highly of the country's strong development towards a new era, while expressing his hope that the RoK would become a trusted partner of Vietnam in realising its national strategic goals.

Governor-General of New Zealand Cindy Kiro also sent a congratulatory letter to General Secretary and President Lam, while Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon sent congratulatory letters to General Secretary and President Lam and PM Hung.

The New Zealand leaders stressed that Vietnam–New Zealand relations have made important progress over the past year and that the two countries have considerable potential for cooperation. Building on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the two sides have ample room to expand opportunities for businesses and people, with a view to achieving the target of 3 billion USD in two-way trade. General Secretary and President Lam's State visit to New Zealand was an important milestone, providing fresh momentum and directions for future cooperation.

New Zealand believes that bilateral relations will continue to develop extensively and deeply and wishes to focus on effectively implementing the action plan to bring practical benefits to the people, they said.

On behalf of the Government and people of Australia, Governor-General Sam Mostyn sent a congratulatory letter to General Secretary and President Lam, as well as the Government and people of Vietnam.

She affirmed that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries is developing robustly on the foundation of strategic trust, people-to-people exchanges and a shared commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous region. Australia supports Vietnam's goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045, while highly valuing diverse cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, education, science and technology, and international issues.

Building on the positive outcomes of high-level visits and exchanges between the two countries, including General Secretary and President Lam's recent State visit to Australia, Governor-General Mostyn expressed confidence that bilateral friendship would continue to develop strongly in the time ahead.

In a congratulatory letter to General Secretary and President Lam and the Vietnamese people, Governor-General of Canada Louise Arbour affirmed that Canada attaches importance to its friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, which has developed over many decades and been strengthened by strong people-to-people ties and a shared commitment to promoting regional prosperity and stability.

Speaking highly of the strong progress achieved by the two sides across various fields in recent years, she expressed her hope of welcoming Vietnam’s top leader on a visit to Canada soon to further strengthen bilateral relations and tap new opportunities and potential for cooperation.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres sent a congratulatory message to General Secretary and President Lam, extending his congratulations to the Vietnamese people and commending Vietnam's future prospects and practical contributions to the international community.

In the face of increasingly pressing global challenges, the UN Secretary-General emphasised the need to uphold dialogue and solidarity, and strengthen multilateral cooperation to promote peace, security, sustainable development and the protection of human rights.

On this occasion, the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, and New Zealand cabled congratulatory letters and messages to Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung./.