Vietnam, Russia discuss measures to bolster practical and effective cooperation

At their talks held on June 20 as part of President Putin’s state visit to Vietnam, the Vietnamese State leader laid stress on the significance of the visit which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Principles of Friendly Relations between the two nations (1994-2024).

He also congratulated the Russian people on their achievements under President Putin's leadership and the Russian President on the high support for him in the March presidential election.

The Vietnamese people always hail the heartfelt support and assistance from the Russian people during Vietnam’s past struggle for national independence and reunification, as well as the current process of national construction and defence.

In pursuit of a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, and cooperation, Vietnam regards Russia as one of its most important partners and desires to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries for the benefit of their people and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world as a whole.

President Putin, in turn, showed his elation at his fifth visit to and said that Russia treasures its time-honoured friendship and comprehensive collaboration with Vietnam in its “look east” policy.

He emphasized that strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam is Russia's top priority in the Asia-Pacific region and hoped his current visit would boost the ties and the two countries’ win-win multifaceted cooperation.

Both leaders noted with their satisfaction with sound political relations and high mutual trust between Vietnam and Russia and held that that recent delegation exchange at all levels, particularly high-level ones, have helped reinforce the bilateral cooperation.

They consented to promote political dialogues and exchanges at all levels, especially high-level and top-level, through the Party, State, and National Assembly channels, and to educate younger generations about the traditional friendship to continuously fortify political trust and create a foundation conducive to augmenting bilateral cooperation in a multitude of fields.

Host and guest also applauded the active partnership in education-training, culture, science, and technology. To further strengthen mutual understanding and friendship, they concurred to step up collaboration between the nations’ twinned localities, increase youth exchanges, and expand aviation cooperation in a bid to boost tourism.

Regarding the education area, President Putin agreed with the host leader's proposal to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students, particularly in basic sciences and cultural arts, which are Russia's strengths.

The two sides consented to facilitate tourism by negotiating and signing agreements to simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese citizens and to ramp up labour cooperation by negotiating and signing agreements on vocational training and labour.

They expressed their desire to increase cooperation in national defence-security, especially in addressing non-traditional security challenges and coordinating closely at defence-security multilateral forums, especially ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ), all in line with international principles and regulations.

President Lam affirmed Vietnam's readiness to act as a bridge between Russia and ASEAN, making positive and responsible contributions to ensuring peace, stability, and development in the Asia-Pacific and the world.

Regarding global and regional issues of shared concern, the leaders backed the establishment of a democratic, fair international relations system based on international law and the United Nations Charter, especially not using force or threatening to use force, non-interference in internal affairs, and peaceful settlement of disputes.

They pledged close coordination at multilateral forums, particularly the UN and APEC, and within the ASEAN-Russia, ASEAN-Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and ASEAN-Eurasian Economic Union frameworks. Additionally, they voiced support for ASEAN's centrality in the regional architecture of the Asia-Pacific and agreed to further strengthen the ASEAN-Russia strategic partnership for the benefit of both nations and for global and regional peace, stability and development.

President Putin affirmed Russia’s support for Vietnam in successfully hosting the APEC Year 2027.

On the East Sea issue, the two sides supported ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, not using force or threatening to use force, and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They also voiced support for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early finalization of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Concerning  the conflict in Ukraine, President Lam reaffirmed Vietnam's stance on supporting the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law and UN Charter, taking into account the legitimate interests of all concerned parties.

Vietnam is willing to join international mediation efforts with the involvement of relevant stakeholders to seek a sustainable peaceful solution to the Ukraine issue, he said.

The talks ended with the two State leaders rejoicing over the forthcoming celebrations of major milestones in their bilateral ties, especially the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s national reunification.

President Putin extended his invitation to President Lam to attend the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism in Russia’s Great Patriotic War, with the invitation being graciously accepted.

On the occasion, the two leaders witnessed the signing and exchange of 11 cooperation agreements documents in a multitude of areas, including education-training, transport, justice, customs, finance and science-technology.