Dien Bien and Saint Petersburg ink cooperation agreement
VOV.VN - Dien Bien, a province in north-west Vietnam, and Russia’s second largest city of Saint Petersburg have signed an agreement on trade-economic, science-technology cooperation and socio-cultural exchanges between the two sides.
The agreement was signed on November 29 during a working visit to the Russian city by a delegation from Dien Bien province led by Tran Quoc Cuong, secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.
During his stay, Cuong met with Saint Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov who emphasized that Saint Petersburg holds significant importance in Vietnam-Russia relations, as it was the first place President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam visited 101 years ago. He noted that since 2020, when Vietnam became the first priority country in Saint Petersburg’s foreign relations, the city has continued to strengthen its ties with localities in Vietnam.
According to the Governor, Saint Petersburg, which withstood the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) is proud of its partnership with Dien Bien, where the legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign took place in 1954, marking a global historical turning point.
Beglov proposed several promising areas of cooperation between Saint Petersburg and Dien Bien, including education, economy, agricultural exports, tourism, and especially heritage preservation.
Cuong for his part expressed his deep emotions when witnessing the historic city, the birthplace, study, and workplace of many remarkable leaders of the former Soviet Union and present-day Russia, as well as many famous scientists, artists, and athletes from Russia and around the world. He also highlighted that Saint Petersburg was the site of the October Revolution of 1917, a milestone that propelled humanity into an era of overthrowing colonialism and imperialism, leading to successful revolutions such as Vietnam’s August Revolution in 1945, which brought independence and freedom to the nation.
On the same day, Beglov and Cuong inaugurated the photo exhibition “Echoes of Dien Bien” that displays 57 documentary photographs. The exhibition also features 22 sketches by People's Artist Ngo Manh Lan, a frontline artist, who captured the heroic battle of Vietnamese soldiers at Dien Bien Phu and the resilience of local people who braved bombings and mud to transport supplies to the battlefield.
