Vietnam's top leader To Lam heads to UN General Assembly and Canada

Vietnam's Party General Secretary and President To Lam will attend the U.N. General Assembly's high-level general debate in New York and pay a state visit to Canada this month.

He will attend the general debate at the U.N., hold bilateral engagements in the U.S. and visit Canada from Sept. 20 to 25, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told a press briefing on Sept. 17.

The Canada leg comes at the invitation of Governor General Louise Arbour and will be the second U.N. General Assembly session by Party General Secretary and President To Lam.

The general debate of the 81st session will run on Sept. 22-28 under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all."

Vietnam's Party General Secretary and President To Lam. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Since joining the U.N. in 1977, Vietnam has taken on several major roles, including chairing the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 2026 and serving on the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 and 2026-2028 terms. A Vietnamese national has also been elected to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the first time, for the 2026-2035 term.

Vietnam and the U.S. normalized relations in July 1995, upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Partnership in July 2013 and elevated them to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023.

The U.S. is Vietnam's second-largest trading partner after China, with two-way trade reaching $170 billion in 2025 and $97.7 billion in the first half of 2026.

Vietnam and Canada established diplomatic relations in 1973 and upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Partnership in November 2017. Canada is advancing its Indo-Pacific Strategy and deepening ties with ASEAN and key regional partners.