Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation left Hanoi in the early morning of June 5 for attendance at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) and bilateral activities in France; and official visits to Estonia and Sweden from June 5-14.

The trip is being made at the invitations of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

This is the first time the Vietnamese PM has attended the UN Ocean Conference. This marks the first visit to France by the PM since the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2024, following the visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron in May 2025. This is the first visit to Estonia by a Vietnamese PM since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992; and also the first visit to Sweden by a Vietnamese Government leader in the past six years.

PM Chinh and his spouse are accompanied by Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Minister – Chairman of the Government Office Tran Van Son; Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung; Deputy Minister of Public Security, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long; Deputy Minister of National Defence, Lieutenant General Nguyen Hong Thai; Deputy Minister of Finance Ho Sy Hung; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long; Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang; Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Chu Hoang Ha; Vietnamese Ambassador to Finland and Estonia Pham Thi Thanh Binh; Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang; and Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Tuan.

PM Chinh's working trip aims to continue implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification, and proactive and active international integration in the spirit of the 13th National Party Congress, as well as Resolutions No. 34-NQ/TW and No. 59-NQ/TW of the Politburo.

In particular, the PM’s attendance at the UN Ocean Conference aims to carry out Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW on the Strategy for sustainable development of Vietnam's marine economy to 2030, with a vision to 2045; demonstrating that Vietnam is an active and responsible member of the international community, has been actively implementing measures to conserve and sustainably use marine resources, and is ready to contribute to the common efforts of the international community on this issue. At the same time, the trip affirms Vietnam's consistent policy of attaching importance to and its wish to strengthen and promote relations with European countries, including France, Estonia and Sweden./.