Thai king honors President Ho Chi Minh on landmark state visit to Vietnam

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua of Thailand paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi and laid a wreath at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs on Wednesday.

The tributes were part of the Sept. 14-16 state visit by the king and Queen Suthida. They came to Vietnam at the invitation of Party General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife.

The king was welcome at the National Assembly House on Tuesday with a 21-gun salute. He then held talks with Party General Secretary and President To Lam and met separately with Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

The trip is the first state visit to Vietnam by a Thai king and queen since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1976.

The king had visited Vietnam twice before as crown prince, in 1992 and 1997.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua lays a wreath in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi on Sept. 16, 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Vietnam and Thailand upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on May 16, 2025. On May 28 this year, they signed an action program to implement the partnership from 2026 to 2031.

Thailand is Vietnam's largest trading partner in ASEAN. Two-way trade reached $22.1 billion in 2025, up 9% from 2024, and topped $15 billion in the first seven months of this year.

More than 100,000 Vietnamese live in Thailand, and between 2,000 and 3,000 Vietnamese students are studying or doing research there.