By: Staff Writer
May 05, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Tô Lâm, in Hanoi on Sunday, in a significant diplomatic engagement underscoring shared interests in economic development, anti-corruption efforts, and multilateral cooperation. The meeting took place at the CPV Central Committee Headquarters, as confirmed by the President’s media office.
General Secretary Tô Lâm, currently Vietnam’s most powerful leader, has led a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign that resulted in the resignation or dismissal of high-ranking officials, including a Prime Minister, President, and Speaker of Parliament.
At one point in 2024, this effort left nearly one-third of Vietnam’s politburo seats vacant. Following a brief tenure as State President, Tô Lâm assumed leadership after the death of former General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng in July 2024.
Under his leadership, Vietnam plans to reduce its public workforce by 20 percent—a strategy aimed at easing the fiscal burden on citizens through spending-based consolidation. This contrasts with Western-style fiscal stimulus approaches that rely on increased public spending.
Tô Lâm praised President Dissanayake and the JVP Party, the core of Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power coalition, for their electoral success, calling it a reflection of the people’s trust in their leadership. He expressed optimism that Sri Lanka, under Dissanayake’s leadership, would achieve significant national development.
President Dissanayake, in turn, congratulated Vietnam on the historic reunification of the country on April 30, 1975, and commended its remarkable progress in economic development since. He lauded Vietnam’s transformation into one of the fastest-growing economies globally, with a steadily rising international profile.
The Sri Lankan President expressed a strong interest in learning from Vietnam’s experience in institutional reform, anti-corruption, and governance. Both leaders agreed to deepen cooperation, particularly at multilateral platforms like the United Nations, and to enhance South-South collaboration.
Vietnam began liberalizing its economy in 1984, several years after Sri Lanka, and stabilized its monetary system by the late 1980s, creating favorable conditions for business and foreign investment. Today, it is a low-cost, food-secure nation with low malnutrition rates and strong trade openness.
The visit marked a reaffirmation of Sri Lanka’s commitment to regional partnerships and a desire to model successful reform strategies from Asia’s emerging economies.
