Hanoi, May 8 -- Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presided over the welcome ceremony featuring a 21-gun salute in honor of the Vietnamese leader before he inspected the guard of honor.

The state visit to Sri Lanka by the top Vietnamese Party and State leader is expected to become an important political milestone, injecting new impetus and opening up a new phase in bilateral ties, with stronger political trust and broader, deeper, more effective and substantive partnerships.

The visit not only reaffirms Viet Nam's commitment to fostering relations with Sri Lanka but also reflects the shared determination of the two countries to elevate their traditional friendship from historical depth to cooperation for mutual development an...