Russia and Vietnam: Friendship tested by time

On the eve of my fifth visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, I would like to share my vision on the history, current state and future of the Russian-Vietnamese partnership through the prestigious and influential Nhan Dan newspaper.

Our upcoming visit to Vietnam is a symbolic event that will take place on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Fundamental Principles of Friendly Relations between Russia and Vietnam. This strategic document has opened up great opportunities for strengthening and developing bilateral relations in general. In the new historical period, it has created a strong impetus for the increasingly dynamic development of Russia-Vietnam relations.

Ho Chi Minh, the great son of the Vietnamese people and a great friend of our country, was the originator of bilateral cooperation between our two countries. Russia always remembers President Ho Chi Minh, an outstanding patriot, politician and statesman who steadfastly defended the sovereignty and freedom of the Fatherland. I would like to emphasize that last year, a monument to him, the first President of Vietnam, was unveiled in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh's visit to the "Northern Capital" of Russia.

Our country has provided effective support to the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people against foreign invaders. After Vietnam won the victory and completely liberated the country from foreign invaders, Soviet construction experts, engineers, doctors, teachers and scientists helped Vietnam rebuild the country. They have done a lot to build up Vietnam's economic and defense potential and help Vietnam solve priority social tasks.

Such time-tested traditions of comradeship and mutual assistance serve as a solid foundation for further strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Vietnam is an ancient, brilliant and independent civilization in the panorama of a multipolar world. In the international arena, Hanoi pursues an independent foreign policy and strongly supports a fair world order based on international law, the principles of equality between nations and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

We appreciate that our two countries have similar or similar approaches to pressing and important issues on the international agenda. Our two countries coordinate closely at key multilateral forums, first and foremost the United Nations.

We have similar assessments of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. We consider Vietnam to share the same view on building a new Eurasian security structure that is equal, indivisible, inclusive and non-discriminatory.

We thank our Vietnamese friends for demonstrating a balanced stance on the Ukrainian crisis and for their desire to promote the search for practical ways to resolve the crisis by peaceful means. All this is completely in line with the spirit and nature of the relations between our two countries.

It is important that both countries are constantly paying serious attention to increasing bilateral trade and encouraging investment in each other. According to Russian statistics, bilateral trade turnover increased by 8% in 2023 and by more than a third in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. Russian food, mineral raw materials, machinery and equipment are exported to Vietnam. Many Vietnamese goods, including clothing, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products, have found consumers in the Russian market.

The Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam, signed in 2015, has created conditions for the consolidation and development of these positive trends. Our two countries have the opportunity to settle payments in national currencies - the Russian ruble and the Vietnamese dong. Last year, such transactions accounted for more than 40% of bilateral trade. In the first quarter of this year, this proportion reached almost 60%.

This is in line with the global trend of phasing out the use of discredited currencies in international trade and investment. The Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank plays an important role in ensuring reliable financial transactions. I participated in the Bank's inauguration in 2006. We hope that the Bank will continue to operate and actively support the promotion of economic cooperation between our two countries.

Energy remains a strategically important area of ​​bilateral cooperation. The Vietsovpetro joint venture has been exploiting fields on the Vietnamese continental shelf for more than four decades with high efficiency. The volume of oil produced by Vietsovpetro over the years has exceeded 250 million tons. The Rusvietpetro joint venture, established in 2008, is successfully operating in the Nenets Autonomous Region of Russia.

In the difficult conditions of the Arctic region, Rusvietpetro has extracted more than 35 million tons of oil from deep underground. Meanwhile, Gazprom Group is exploiting gas in Vietnam, and another large Russian company, Novatek, plans to implement liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Vietnamese territory.

Currently, the two sides are studying and implementing the initiative to establish a Nuclear Science and Technology Center in Vietnam with the support of Russia's Rosatom Corporation. In this regard, I would like to emphasize that Rosatom State Corporation is always ready to support Vietnamese partners in building the national atomic energy industry, including strengthening human resource training.

Russia has traditionally made a significant contribution to the development of Vietnam's hydropower potential. For example, RusHydro is very interested in participating in the reconstruction and capacity expansion of hydropower projects on Vietnam's rivers.

In Da Nang, the GAZ - Thanh Dat joint venture is assembling cars under the Russian GAZ brand.

We hope that Vietnamese investors will also be more active in taking advantage of the great opportunities in the Russian market. For example, the Vietnamese company “TH Group” has successfully taken advantage of this opportunity and is currently building milk processing plants in the Moscow and Kaluga regions as well as in the Primorye region.

Of course, I cannot fail to mention the long-standing tradition of cooperation between the two countries in the field of education. Over the past decades, tens of thousands of Vietnamese specialists in various fields have been trained and improved their qualifications, and thousands of specialists have received scientific degrees in Russia.

We intend to continue to pay special attention to partnership in this area, including continuing to train Vietnamese citizens at Russian universities with funding from the federal budget. We will make every effort to promote student exchanges and implement joint academic projects and programs. A striking example of such active cooperation is the work of the Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Science and Technology Research Center, which has been conducting applied and fundamental research for many years.

Of course, we will continue to develop our human relations. I know that many Vietnamese people understand and love Russian music, literature and cinema. Russians are also very interested in Vietnam's unique art. The Vietnamese Cultural Days in Russia, scheduled to be held early next month, will help Russians understand more deeply about Vietnamese art.

Tourism will certainly contribute to deepening mutual understanding between our peoples. Vietnam has long been one of the favorite vacation destinations of Russians, while Vietnamese people are always attracted by the beautiful landscapes of our country. In the near future, increasing the number of direct flights will contribute to promoting the number of Russian tourists to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists to Russia.

Together with our Vietnamese friends, we will continue to build bilateral relations and develop cooperation for the benefit of our two peoples, for stability and prosperity in the region and the world. And I believe that our two countries, on the basis of a tradition of good friendship, trust and mutual support, will achieve all the great goals set.

Wishing the Vietnamese people peace, happiness and prosperity.