Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) will continue promoting people-to-people diplomacy to help deepen the special friendship between Vietnam and Russia through the effective implementation of high-level agreements, VFF Vice President and General Secretary Ha Thi Nga has said.
Speaking at a reception in Hanoi on March 12 for V.G. Kalganov, Deputy Chairman of the External Relations Committee of Saint Petersburg, Nga highlighted that under the VFF’s new organisational model, socio-political organisations operate within the Front while retaining relative autonomy in accordance with their respective charters. The arrangement, she noted, strengthens the VFF’s role as a bridge linking the Party, the State, and the people, while consolidating the great national unity bloc.
She added that the restructuring also creates favourable conditions for the VFF to expand external relations with international partners, particularly Russia, through delegation exchanges, forums, and enhanced people-to-people engagement.
Nga stressed that Vietnam’s Party and State consistently regard Russia as a special partner based on a long-standing traditional friendship that has now developed into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. She expressed her hope that, in its role as the agency responsible for external relations in Saint Petersburg, home to a large Vietnamese community and many students, the committee will facilitate favourable legal conditions for Vietnamese residents to live, work, and contribute to the city’s development.
Reaffirming that Vietnam consistently views Russia as a special partner grounded in a long-standing traditional friendship and a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Nga expressed her hope that Saint Petersburg authorities will facilitate favourable legal conditions for the Vietnamese community and students living and working in the city.
The VFF, she said, will continue strengthening bilateral ties and promoting cooperation activities, while seeking closer coordination and support from Saint Petersburg to expand people-to-people exchanges in the coming period.
Kalganov, for his part, recalled Party General Secretary To Lam’s 2024 visit to Russia, during which Hanoi and Saint Petersburg established sister-city relations. He noted that the VFF’s renewed organisational structure opens up new opportunities to promote exchanges, organise seminars and exhibitions, and expand cooperation in science and technology, education and training, thereby reinforcing connections between Saint Petersburg authorities and the Vietnamese community in Russia.
On the occasion, Kalganov also conveyed an invitation from the Governor of Saint Petersburg for leaders of the VFF Central Committee to visit Russia and attend the second Russia–Vietnam People’s Forum, scheduled for this October./.
