Baku (VNA) - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev witnessed the signing of important cooperation documents between Vietnam and Azerbaijan and later addressed the media following their talks in Baku on May 7 (local time).
The documents reflected a broad and deepening partnership across multiple sectors. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the energy sector. The two Ministries of Defence exchanged a letter of intent outlining commitments to enhance bilateral defence cooperation. The Ministries of Justice agreed on a cooperation programme for the 2025–2027 period.
The Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group (Petrovietnam) and the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan exchanged an MoU focusing on collaboration in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, technical services, and training.
Additionally, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC of Vietnam and the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan exchanged an MoU on the long-term supply of crude oil to Dung Quat Refinery which is operated by Binh Son.
Another MoU was reached between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Digital Development and Transport to enhance collaboration in their respective sectors. The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also signed an MoU with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture.
Speaking to the media following the ceremony, President Aliyev emphasised that his talks with the Vietnamese leader had addressed a number of critical issues, and that the signed documents represented a meaningful step forward in bilateral ties. He underscored that General Secretary Lam’s visit and his presence at the signing ceremony reflected the importance both sides attached to strengthening cooperation, particularly in promising fields such as education and logistics.
President Aliyev noted that the two countries had agreed to expand collaboration beyond trade, with a strong mutual interest in promoting investment. The two sides also reached consensus on the early convening of the Vietnam–Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Committee to accelerate the implementation of joint initiatives.
He also expressed hope for a more balanced trade structure between the two countries and underlined the need for greater exchange of information regarding specific projects to encourage stronger business engagement. He noted that while the geographical distance posed a challenge, closer cooperation in key sectors such as renewable energy and defence will yield significant mutual benefits.
Azerbaijan also looked forward to deepening collaboration with Vietnam at multilateral forums, including the United Nations, he stated.
President Aliyev highlighted the significance of the visit, the first by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. He said the visit reflected Vietnam’s high regard for its friendship with Azerbaijan and a strong determination to elevate bilateral ties across all fields in accordance with the countries’ longstanding relations and shared potential.
In his remarks, General Secretary Lam expressed his deep appreciation for the warm welcome extended by President Aliyev, other Azerbaijani leaders and the Azerbaijani people to the high-level Vietnamese delegation. He stated that the two sides had held very productive talks and had reached broad consensus on many strategic directions to advance bilateral relations in the future.
He recalled that the foundation of the Vietnam–Azerbaijan friendship was laid by President Ho Chi Minh’s historic visit to Azerbaijan in 1959, and has since been nurtured through continued exchanges between senior leaders and the efforts of both peoples. As a result, the relationship has seen substantive progress across various areas, including politics, diplomacy, energy, national defence and security, trade and investment, and education and training, he noted.
To further consolidate these achievements and realise the untapped potential of the partnership, the two leaders agreed to adopt a Joint Statement establishing a strategic partnership. This new framework marks a significant turning point and is expected to provide a solid foundation for strengthening and deepening Vietnam–Azerbaijan relations, enabling both countries to leverage their strengths for rapid and sustainable development in the new context.
To implement the Joint Statement and usher in a new era of bilateral cooperation, General Secretary Lam outlined five groups of solutions. Accordingly, both sides will intensify delegation exchanges and visits at all levels and across all channels, including the Party, State, National Assembly and local authorities. Vietnam and Azerbaijan will seek to enhance relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam and Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party, as well as with other influential political parties in Azerbaijan.
Both countries will work to ensure the effective implementation of all high-level cooperation documents signed. They will strengthen coordination in existing cooperation mechanisms and consider establishing new frameworks. Both sides will focus on promoting substantive and comprehensive economic and trade cooperation. This includes enhancing the role and effectiveness of the Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation, intensifying trade and investment promotion, and strengthening linkages between the business communities of the two nations, as well as bolstering collaboration in key sectors such as oil and gas and emerging areas like railway and maritime transport, agriculture, and processing-manufacturing industries.
The Vietnamese Party chief stressed the need for the two countries to promote defence cooperation through increasing delegation exchanges and sharing experience in areas of mutual concern. These include information sharing and joint efforts to combat transnational crime, cybercrime and drug trafficking.
Vietnam and Azerbaijan will also broaden cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, education, people-to-people exchanges, along with multilateral coordination. The two sides plan to organise cultural and artistic events in both countries, enhance experience-sharing in sports training and competitions, and step up tourism promotion to attract more visitors.
Vietnam is interested in sending more students to study key subjects in Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijan is considering establishing friendship associations to strengthen grassroots ties and mutual understanding between their peoples.
Both sides pledged to deepen their coordination on regional and global issues of shared concern. They will continue working together to address both traditional and non-traditional security challenges and will support one another at multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
Both leaders emphasised support to maintaining peace, stability, security, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded trade in the East Sea, as well as resolving disputes through peaceful means, without using or threatening to use force, and in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
General Secretary Lam expressed his strong confidence that, with the political will of both countries’ leaders and peoples, the Vietnam–Azerbaijan strategic partnership will continue to grow for the benefit of both nations and for peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and the wider world./.
