Significance of President Putin's Viet Nam visit

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi made the above statement in a recent interview ahead of the Russian top leader's State visit to Viet Nam from June 19-20.

According to Dang, the visit affirms both sides' commitments to maintaining and developing their relations.

"It creates an opportunity for leaders from two nations to meet, discuss and reach consensus on crucial issues and strategic orientations for future, identifying key cooperation fields from economics, trade, defense-security, energy, science-technology, to education, culture and people-to-people links", the diplomat shared.

President Putin's visit also sends a strong message of mutual respect, manifesting the friendship and solidarity between Viet Nam and Russia, thus contributing to raising the status of both sides in the international arena, for the sake of their nations and for peace and stability in the region and the world, noted the Ambassador, he continued.

The visit expects to see a number of new cooperation agreements to be inked and realized, creating impetus for boosting bilateral ties. These agreements not only bring economic benefits but also strengthen connectivity in terms of politics and strategy between the two countries, reiterated Dang.

The diplomat said, since the establishment of diplomatic ties on January 30, 1950, the bilateral ties have been strengthened across all sectors.

In order to create a new legal framework for relations between the two nations, in 1994, Viet Nam and Russia signed the Treaty on Principles of Friendly Relations, which affirmed that the friendly relations are built on the principles of respect for independence and sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit based on international law.

The two sides have effectively established and implemented many mechanisms such as the intergovernmental committee, strategic dialogues, and annual political consultations, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and creating a basis for promoting cooperation in all aspects, told the Ambassador.

Viet Nam and Russia always support and work closely at international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, and ARF.

Regarding spotlights in economic ties, Dang said, the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was signed in 2015, paving the way for developing economic, trade and investment ties.

The two-way trade value hit over US$3.6 billion in 2023, up 3.6 percent against the previous year.

In the first five months of this year, the bilateral trade saw a year-on-year increase of 52 percent, reaching approximately US$2 billion, of which US$956 million was earned from exporting to Russia, up 45 percent.

As of the end of May this year, Russian investors poured nearly US$1 billion in 186 projects in Viet Nam while the Southeast Asian nation invested in 25 projects in Russia, worth around US$3 billion./.