Moscow (VNA) - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam held bilateral meetings with leaders from other countries in Moscow on May 8 evening, when they attended a banquet hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the meeting with Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping, General Secretary Lam conveyed regards from Vietnam’s leaders to the Chinese leader.
Speaking highly of the outcomes of Xi’s recent state visit to Vietnam, Lam called it a new milestone in the development of the Vietnam–China relations.
Lam affirmed that Vietnam stands ready to work with China to effectively implement high-level common perceptions and joint statements between the two countries, continuously advancing and deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the Vietnam–China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance in line with the six major directions.
The Vietnamese leader suggested the two sides continue to increase regular high-level exchanges in flexible formats, promote substantive cooperation across fields, especially railway connectivity, and actively expand collaboration in emerging areas.
He emphasised the need to make cooperation in science-technology as well as digital transformation new highlights and new growth drivers in bilateral relations. In this regard, the Party chief called on China to help Vietnam in training human resources in science-technology.
Lam also expressed his hope that both sides will work to further promote healthy and stable trade, suggesting the neighbouring country step up the imports of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products, and other goods.
The two countries should better manage and resolve maritime issues, thereby creating a conducive environment for the development of each nation and their bilateral relations in this new era of growth.
For his part, Xi spoke highly of Lam’s proposals regarding future directions and measures to enhance bilateral relations, and affirmed that China attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, considering it a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy.
The leader stressed that the two countries need to accelerate the materialisation and effective implementation of high-level agreements and common perceptions, foster political trust, improve the quality and efficiency of cooperation across spheres, and solidify public support as a foundation for deepening and sustainably developing the relations between the two Parties and countries.
In a separate meeting with First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the Cuban leader expressed his delight at the special traditional and fraternal relations between the two countries, which continue to be nurtured, strengthened, and developed intensively and extensively across all areas for the practical benefit of the two peoples.
He affirmed that the Party, State, Government, National Assembly, and people of Vietnam will never forget Cuba’s wholehearted support for its past struggle for national liberation. Vietnam always values, preserves, and is determined to further deepen the traditional solidarity and comprehensive cooperation with Cuba, standing side by side in support of the Cuban people's just revolutionary cause.
General Secretary Lam stressed the importance of continuing to realise high-level commitments and agreements, and called for closer coordination to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key areas such as economy, trade, agriculture, food security, and energy security. The General Secretary also reaffirmed Vietnam’s consistent stance of opposing unilateral sanctions against Cuba.
President Díaz-Canel also lauded the valuable support from the Vietnamese Government and people, affirming that Vietnam has always been a highly trusted friend, consistently supporting and assisting Cuba in overcoming difficulties in its national development, especially during periods affected by blockades and sanctions.
He praised the Cuba–Vietnam relationship as a noble symbol, founded by President Fidel Castro and President Ho Chi Minh, and nurtured by generations of leaders from both nations.
In that spirit, he said, Cuba has recently held a series of commemorative events marking the 50th anniversary of liberation of the South and national reunification of Vietnam, demonstrating its friendship and special solidarity with the Vietnamese people.
On this occasion, President Díaz-Canel pledged to instruct relevant Cuban ministries and agencies to closely coordinate with Vietnam in implementing the outcomes of General Secretary Lam’s state visit to Cuba in September 2024, with a focus on promoting investment and trade ties, particularly in agriculture and food security.
During his meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, General Secretary Lam noted that Vietnam always values its traditional friendship with Uzbekistan and that the CPV seeks to enhance relations with Uzbekistan’s political parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party.
He expressed Vietnam’s willingness to serve as a bridge to strengthen Uzbekistan’s ties with other Southeast Asian countries, and proposed that Uzbekistan support Vietnam in expanding its relations with Central Asian nations and boosting interregional connectivity.
President Mirziyoyev voiced strong support for advancing bilateral relations, and suggested the two sides work towards the successful organisation of the 8th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation within this year.
He also called for deeper collaboration in oil and gas, education, and transport, including the launch of more direct flights and the expansion of multimodal freight transport.
Both leaders agreed to intensify political dialogue and exchanges at all levels, particularly the high-level one, through Party, State, Government, National Assembly, and local channels.
They also pledged to continue close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums; facilitate business engagement and investment; and promote cultural and sports exchanges, tourism cooperation, and people-to-people diplomacy.
On the occasion of attending the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War in Russia, on the evening of May 8, General Secretary Lam also had bilateral meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
At the meetings, the foreign leaders congratulated Vietnam on successfully organising the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification and affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of their countries in Southeast Asia.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his deep impression of Vietnam's warm reception during his state visit to the country in March and informed that he had directed relevant ministries, agencies, and localities to implement the high-level commitments and agreements signed between the two countries.
General Secretary Lam affirmed that Vietnam highly appreciates and supports Brazil in successfully organising the BRICS Summit and the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30).
On this occasion, the Brazilian President invited Vietnam to send a high-ranking delegation to the event.
During the meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, General Secretary Lam thanked Venezuela for its good sentiments towards the Party, State and people of Vietnam as well as for sending a delegation to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification.
The General Secretary also emphasised the good results in the relationship over the past time. The two sides agreed to promote the implementation of the cooperation agreements reached, thereby further deepening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development of the two peoples and the world.
During the meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, General Secretary Lam expressed his delight at the results achieved in many fields since the two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership in September 2024 during General Secretary Lam's state visit to Mongolia.
The two leaders reaffirmed their efforts to realise the committed cooperation frameworks, thereby contributing to promoting the extensive development of bilateral relations.
At the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, General Secretary Lam highly valued the results of the official visit to Armenia by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man in April and emphasised that the two countries need to further strengthen the exchange of delegations at all levels, thereby further strengthening the political trust between the two countries.
The leaders discussed measures to further strengthen the traditional friendship and good cooperation between the two countries as well as a number of international and regional issues of mutual concern.
Meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 9, Lam affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Slovakia, stressing that the Vietnamese people always remember and deeply appreciate the invaluable support and solidarity extended by the Slovak people during Vietnam’s past struggle for independence and national reunification, as well as in its ongoing journey of socio-economic development and international integration.
Fico, in turn, praised Vietnam’s growing role and stature in the region and the world, describing Vietnam as a top important partner in Southeast Asia and wishes to further promote bilateral ties across various areas.
Both leaders agreed to continue bolstering cooperation in all fields by intensifying high-level delegation exchanges to strengthen political trust and mutual understanding. They committed to boosting economic ties by capitalising on complementary strengths, particularly in the face of global and regional uncertainties. The leaders also pledged to enhance collaboration in education, sci-tech, innovation, student exchanges, culture, and tourism.
They also agreed to closely coordinate in addressing regional and global issues, support each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, strategic partnership and ASEAN–EU frameworks.
On the occasion, Lam called on Slovakia to advocate for the European Commission’s removal of the “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood exports and encourage remaining EU member states to ratify the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) promptly.
Fico proposed joint cultural initiatives in 2025 to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, including cultural days, art exhibitions, film weeks, music and dance performances, and sports exchanges. He also urged Vietnam to consider visa exemptions for Slovak citizens to facilitate tourism, business and investment ties.
General Secretary Lam thanked the Slovak Government for recognising the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority group in Slovakia. He hoped Slovak authorities would continue supporting the community’s integration into local society, enabling them to contribute to Slovakia’s development while fostering the friendship between the two countries' people./.
