President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to take center stage at this year’s United Nations Vesak Day celebrations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he will deliver the keynote address as Chief Guest, marking a high-profile moment on the global Buddhist calendar.
The announcement was made by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming that the President will travel to Vietnam from May 4 to 6, 2025, on a state visit at the invitation of Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng.
While the Vesak Festival is a spiritual highlight, this visit also carries significant diplomatic and economic weight.
During his stay, President Dissanayake is expected to sign several MoUs and bilateral agreements, and participate in key discussions with Vietnam’s top leadership including the President, Prime Minister, and the General Secretary of the Communist Party. Talks are expected to span trade, employment, tourism, and deeper regional cooperation.
This year marks 55 years of diplomatic ties between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and the visit is widely seen as a strategic step to reinforce bilateral relations in a shifting Asian geopolitical landscape.
President Dissanayake will be joined by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath, along with a senior delegation of government officials.
With spiritual symbolism on one side and high-level statecraft on the other, all eyes are on this historic visit one that could signal a stronger Sri Lanka-Vietnam axis in the years ahead.
