Foreign Minister meets Vietnamese expatriates in Russia
VOV.VN - Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, who is on a working visit to Russia, dropped into the Vietnamese Embassy in Moscow and met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Russia on September 25.
Son briefed embassy officials and Vietnamese representatives about Vietnam’s recent socio-economic development and stressed that the Party and State are keen to promote a vaccine diplomacy in order to get more vaccines for local use in their fight against COVID-19.
He said that during recent working trips to Cuba and the United States for the 76th UN General Assembly, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc took advantage of his meetings with heads of State and Government and leaders of organisations to ask for vaccine and medical supply support, as well as transfer of vaccine production technology.
International friends expressed their belief that Vietnam would gradually overcome difficulties caused by the pandemic and soon return to a new normal, said Son.
On bilateral relations, the minister stressed that the Party and State attach special importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia as evidenced in effective cooperation in such areas as security-national defence, energy, oil & gas, and education-training.
Despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries’ top leaders have maintained regular contact and exchanges both physically and virtually.
Minister Son highly appreciated the Embassy for its efforts in promoting the vaccine diplomacy, by actively negotiating with Russian partners to soon deploy the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Vietnam.
He also acknowledged the significant contributions by the Vietnamese community in Russia to the COVID-19 Prevention Fund, noting that the community serves as a bridge to strengthen the friendship and cooperation, especially in trade and investment, between the two countries.
He reiterated the Party and State’s policy of considering the Vietnamese community abroad as an integral part and an important resource of the Vietnamese nation.
Son stated that the Party Central Committee recently made conclusions that concritise the tasks set forth by the 13th National Party Congress regarding overseas Vietnamese affairs.
Accordingly, the Party and State will provide continued support for Vietnamese expatriates abroad to help them consolidate a solid legal position, develop and integrate into their host society, and actively contribute to the fatherland.
At the meeting, the Vietnamese Association in Russian handed over to Minister Son a token of the US$135,000 sum raised by Vietnamese people in Russia to support the COVID-19 fight in the homeland.
Minister Son is in Moscow for a September 25-28 working visit to Russia at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
