Vietnam and Russia must work hard to foster and develop their traditional ties, said National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

While receiving outgoing Russian Ambassador Vadim Viktorovich Serafimov in Hanoi on July 27, Vietnam’s top legislator highly valued the ambassador’s contributions to consolidating and strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

During his term of office, the two countries have exchanged many high-ranking delegations and bilateral ties have continuously developed in various fields, especially economics, trade, culture, science and technology, Trong said.

The two countries’ high-ranking leaders have also agreed to bring the Vietnam-Russia relationship to a strategic partnership in the 21 st century, he added.

Ambassador Serafimov said he was pleased with the fine developments in Russia-Vietnam ties, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

He applauded NA Chairman Trong’s official visit to Russia early this year, saying that it was an important contribution to developing friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

However, the ambassador also noted that the economic and trade cooperation hasn’t yet matched its potential and expectations.


He expressed his hope that Russia will implement more investment and cooperation projects in Vietnam./.