Fresh impetus for Viet Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister made the statement ahead of the state visit to Russia by General Secretary and President To Lam, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Russia from September 7 to 9 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chernyshenko, who also heads the Russian section of the Viet Nam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee, cited President Putin as describing Viet Nam as a longstanding and trusted partner of Russia.

He affirmed that bilateral ties are rooted in a long tradition of friendship, mutual trust and support, with regular high-level contacts playing an important role in consolidating bilateral relations.

A major milestone was reached in June 2024, when the two countries adopted a joint statement on further deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership, outlining new directions for cooperation in the years ahead.

The momentum continued in 2025, when President Putin held talks with General Secretary To Lam. The two countries subsequently designated 2026 as the Year of Science and Education Cooperation, an area that has long served as an important bridge between the two peoples.

Chernyshenko said General Secretary and President To Lam's upcoming visit is of particular significance, providing an opportunity not only to maintain regular high-level exchanges but also to inject fresh momentum into cooperation in trade, economy, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges.

According to the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, science and education have long been priority areas in Viet Nam-Russia relations.

The Viet Nam-Russia Committee on Educational, Scientific and Technological Cooperation is operating effectively, while the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation meets regularly.

The Joint Viet Nam-Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Center has also become a key platform for bilateral scientific cooperation, with its development strategy through 2035 already approved.

Chernyshenko said there remains considerable untapped potential for joint research. He proposed increasing funding for joint research activities and organizing regular, planned calls for research proposals involving scientists from both countries.

The two sides signed an inter-ministerial agreement in May 2025 on organizing annual calls for joint research projects, he noted.

The Russian official also stressed the importance of strengthening academic exchanges and human-resource training, including the training of technical specialists through cooperation among technical universities.

He called for greater collaboration in high-tech and innovation areas, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and renewable energy, which are increasingly important to the technological development of both countries.

Chernyshenko underlined the need to further strengthen the institutional framework connecting universities and research organizations in the two countries, noting that more than 500 cooperation agreements are currently in effect.

New drivers for trade and investment cooperation

The Deputy PM said October will mark the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The agreement's transition period has ended, while much of its potential for rapidly expanding bilateral trade has already been tapped, he said.

Therefore, it is necessary to establish new foundations for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

This orientation is reflected in the Viet Nam-Russia comprehensive cooperation plan through 2030, signed in 2025, which sets a target of increasing bilateral trade turnover to US$15 billion.

Chernyshenko said the two countries have promising opportunities to expand bilateral trade, but stressed that cooperation should go beyond conventional exports to promote technological and industrial partnerships.

Such cooperation would contribute to Viet Nam's efforts to strengthen technological self-reliance while supporting Russia's efforts to expand exports, he said.

The Russian Deputy PM identified energy and power engineering as a priority area, describing it as a traditional pillar of bilateral cooperation with considerable room for expansion.

Beyond oil and gas, the two sides could cooperate in power equipment, electricity grids, power generation, services and localized production.

Other promising areas include railways and urban metro systems, mining and mineral processing, agriculture and food production, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, and digital technologies.

Chernyshenko also highlighted nuclear energy as an emerging foundation for deeper bilateral cooperation.

Russian universities are participating in training engineers for Viet Nam's nuclear industry. In the current academic year, the Vietnamese Government allocated 59 Russian Government scholarships for training specialists in the nuclear sector at Russian universities.

Universities in the two countries are also cooperating in a range of areas, including nuclear and hydrogen energy, renewable energy, power generation and electrical engineering, aircraft manufacturing, and information technology.

The Deputy PM stressed that education and scientific cooperation could help create a long-term human-resource foundation for strategic economic and technological partnerships between Viet Nam and Russia.

E-commerce is another promising area of cooperation, according to Chernyshenko.

He noted that Russia is currently one of the world's leading countries in e-commerce development, with online marketplaces becoming major channels for small and medium-sized enterprises to promote and sell their products.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam's e-commerce market is expanding rapidly, with average annual growth of 15-20 per cent, making the country one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia.

Against this backdrop, stronger cooperation between e-commerce platforms in the two countries could create new opportunities for Russian producers to access the Vietnamese market, he said.

Chernyshenko expressed confidence that deeper economic cooperation would contribute to further strengthening friendship, mutual trust and understanding between the two countries.

He also highlighted student exchanges, joint scientific and educational projects, youth forums and cultural programs as important channels for bringing the younger generations of the two countries closer together.

People-to-people ties are further reinforced through twinning relations between major cities, including Ha Noi and Moscow, Ho Chi Minh City and St. Petersburg, and Da Nang and Yaroslavl, among others.

Such exchanges, he said, help young people of the two countries better understand one another and establish direct connections that can serve as a foundation for broader cooperation in the future./.