According to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Vietnam, the key factor to continuously develop and strengthen Russia-Vietnam relations is regular and meaningful political dialogue at the highest level.
On January 12, ahead of the official visit to Vietnam of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin from January 14 to 15, 2025, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Vietnam GSBezdetko gave an assessment of the visit and Vietnam-Russian Federation relations.
Many documents will be signed
Ambassador GSBezdetko said that during the visit, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin will meet and hold talks with Vietnamese leaders.
The two sides will discuss urgent issues of Vietnam-Russian Federation cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, culture and humanitarianism.
The two sides paid special attention to implementing joint projects in the fields of energy, transport, industry, agriculture and other fields. Following the negotiations, a number of joint documents are expected to be signed.
“The visit of one of the top leaders of the Russian Federation to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union/Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (January 30, 1950-January 30, 2025) is a symbolic event,” said Ambassador GSBezdetko.
According to the Ambassador, this year also marks many important and memorable anniversaries in the history of relations between the two countries: the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War (May 9, 2025), the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification of Vietnam (April 30, 2025), the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day (September 2, 2025), as well as the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (May 29, 2025).
Ambassador GSBezdetko assessed that over the past 75 years, the two countries have accumulated a lot of experience, including unique experiences in mutually beneficial and diverse cooperation.
Since 2001, relations between the Russian Federation and Vietnam have reached strategic status and since 2012 have been upgraded to comprehensive strategic partnership.
At present, the two countries interact in many different fields such as trade, economy, science and technology, humanitarian, defense and security.
Strengthening bilateral cooperation
According to Ambassador GSBezdetko, the key factor for the continuous development and consolidation of Russia-Vietnam relations is regular and meaningful political dialogue at the highest level.
An important driving force for promoting cooperation between the two countries is the result of the state visit of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to Vietnam (June 19-20, 2024), the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation with Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit (October 24, 2024), as well as the official visit to Russia of Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man (September 8-10, 2024).
In September 2024, the meeting to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Russia-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Nikolayevich Chernyshenko and Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam Tran Hong Ha.
Contacts are actively organized between competent ministries, departments and agencies in the context of implementing agreements reached at the highest level in the fields of industrial production, trade and investment, information and communication, science and technology, culture and tourism.
Mutually beneficial cooperation relations between the two countries are also being established through business organizations. With the above positive developments in bilateral relations, Ambassador GSBezdetko said that during the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister of the Russian Federation MV Mishustin, the two sides are expected to discuss in a substantive manner the prospects for strengthening Russia-Vietnam cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including measures to enhance cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, science, technology and humanitarian affairs.
It is expected that the two sides will exchange views on issues of strengthening coordination of actions in the international arena, primarily at the United Nations and in ASEAN-centered formats, based on the closeness or coincidence of positions of Russia and Vietnam on key issues of the global and regional agenda, on steps to promote a common approach to solving pressing problems of the era, protecting the fundamental principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of independent states, legality and a fair multipolar world order.
“We highly appreciate the participation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the BRICS Summit in the format of “BRICS+” (Kazan, October 24, 2024) and at the meeting on the sidelines of this Summit with the President of the Russian Federation VV Putin,” Ambassador GSBezdetko emphasized.
Creating more momentum to strengthen cooperation between the two countries
Assessing the potential for cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, Ambassador GSBezdetko said that the two countries need to continue to deepen and diversify their cooperative relations.
Such cooperation is based on the solid foundation of a long-standing tradition of friendship and mutual assistance, meeting the fundamental interests of the two countries, the main goal of which is to ensure the prosperous development and happiness of the two peoples.
“We are pleased to note the positive development of trade and economic relations in recent years,” the Ambassador said.
According to the Ambassador, bilateral trade turnover will increase by 8.3% in 2023 and by 24% in the first 9 months of 2024 (reaching 4.4 billion USD). Cooperation in the oil and gas sector is progressing successfully, mainly within the framework of the Vietsovpetro joint venture.
In June 2024, Vietsovpetro marked the milestone of producing the 250 millionth ton of oil. Since 2008, a reverse cooperation project between Vietnam and Russia LLC SK Rusvietpetro has been successfully operating in the Nenets Autonomous Region of the Russian Federation.
Russia’s Gazprom Group is currently operating on the Vietnamese continental shelf. In Da Nang City, a joint venture automobile assembly plant with the participation of Russia’s GAZ Group continues to produce cars. Some of these products are exported to neighboring countries.
Cooperation in the field of supplying food and agricultural products to each other's markets is growing. According to preliminary estimates, the total value of supply to the market in 2024 will exceed 1 billion USD.
This positive trend is maintained largely due to the establishment of direct links between specialized business structures, as well as the expansion of the list of companies that have received operating licenses from the veterinary and phytosanitary authorities of the two countries.
The number of Russian regions cooperating with Vietnamese cities and provinces is increasing. In 2024, delegations from St. Petersburg and Moscow, Ulyanovsk, Yaroslavl and Yakutia regions visited Vietnam.
On the Vietnamese side, leaders of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Can Tho, Quang Tri, Thai Binh and Hai Phong visited Russian provinces.
Traditionally, the two countries have closely cooperated in the field of education. Every year, Vietnamese citizens are granted 1,000 scholarships to study at Russian universities using the federal budget.
A promising cooperation project has been implemented within the framework of cooperation between Russian and Vietnamese universities. Humanitarian exchange activities are becoming increasingly important.
Aeroflot resumed regular flights on the Moscow-Ho Chi Minh City-Moscow route, while IrAvia opened flights from Irkutsk to Hanoi, Phu Quoc Island and Nha Trang, contributing to the increase in the number of tourists from Russia to Vietnam.
According to Vietnam statistics, from January to November 2024, the total number of Russian citizens visiting Vietnam reached 204,000 (an increase of 82%). Most of them were tourists.
“I believe that the meetings and negotiations of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation MV Mishustin with Vietnamese leaders during this visit will create more momentum to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in traditional fields as well as new promising fields in the spirit of friendship, mutual understanding and comprehensive strategic partnership,” Ambassador GSBezdetko shared./.
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