Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung held talks with visiting Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov in Hanoi on October 28, with both sides pledging to deepen their strategic partnership and expand cooperation across multiple fields.
Welcoming Ryzhenkov and the Belarusian delegation, Trung affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to its traditional friendship and strategic partnership with Belarus. He expressed appreciation for the valuable support and assistance extended by the Belarusian people to Vietnam during its past struggle for national independence and its current process of national construction and development.
He also highlighted positive development steps in the bilateral relations, particularly following General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam’s state visit to Belarus in May 2025 and the establishment of the strategic partnership between the two countries.
For his part, Ryzhenkov expressed pleasure at making his first official visit to Vietnam and thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its warm and cordial reception. He congratulated Vietnam on its major achievements in socio-economic development and international integration, and praised the country’s growing role and standing in the region and the world.
He affirmed that Vietnam is considered one of Belarus’s important partners in Southeast Asia and called for greater use of the strategic partnership framework. He also proposed maintaining the exchange of delegations at all levels through Party and State channels, strengthening parliamentary and local-level cooperation, promoting business connections and expanding people-to-people exchanges.
In a friendly and frank atmosphere, the two ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation and coordination between their ministries.
On political and diplomatic ties, they agreed to strengthen political trust, maintain the regular exchange of delegations and meetings at all levels, particularly high-level ones, and effectively implement agreements and common perceptions reached by their leaders.
Highly valuing the close coordination between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs over the recent period, the two ministers agreed that the ministries should continue to fulfill their coordinating role to advance the overall bilateral relationship, maintain effective political consultation mechanisms, and regularly review the progress in implementing agreements. They also pledged to coordinate preparations for upcoming high-level visits.
The two sides will work together to mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 70th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Belarus in 2027.
Regarding economic and trade cooperation, the ministers noted that current results have yet to match the potential of the two countries and their strong political ties. They agreed to increase bilateral trade, diversify traded goods and make economic cooperation a key driver of the bilateral relations.
Trung called for more effective use of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and other bilateral economic cooperation mechanisms, stronger business connections and increased trade and investment promotion.
Ryzhenkov proposed considering the establishment of trade and investment promotion centres in both countries to help businesses explore markets and develop partnerships.
The ministers also agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of defence and security, education and training, tourism, culture, science, technology and innovation. They encouraged educational institutions to strengthen partnerships, exchange students and lecturers, and conduct joint research. Ryzhenkov affirmed Belarus’s readiness to continue receiving Vietnamese students in fields where Belarus has strengths.
They welcomed the opening of air routes linking Minsk of Belarus with Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc of Vietnam, noting their contribution to growing tourist arrivals from Belarus.
On regional and international issues, the ministers agreed to strengthen consultations and coordination at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations, and consider supporting each other at international organisations and mechanisms.
Trung shared with Ryzhenkov Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, expressing readiness to work with Belarus to promote peace, stability, cooperation and development.
Earlier, before the talks, the two ministers signed a cooperation plan between their ministries for 2027-2029 to strengthen coordination and promote the implementation of high-level agreements.
On this occasion, Ryzhenkov invited Trung to pay an official visit to Belarus in 2027. Trung thanked Ryzhenkov and accepted the invitation with pleasure./.
