Moscow (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 25, as part of the Vietnamese leader’s official visit to Russia.
President Putin said Vietnam remains a sincere friend and an important partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific, stressing that Russia attaches importance to further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Extending his regards and best wishes to Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong and other high-ranking leaders of Vietnam, the President congratulated the country on the success of the 14th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels.
The leader said he is confident that, guided by the key strategic directions set out at the 14th National Party Congress, Vietnam will advance strongly, achieve its development goals for 2030 and 2045, and enhance its position and role on the global stage.
President Putin said the visit by PM Chinh - the first by a key Vietnamese leader to Russia since the 14th National Party Congress - is of great importance in maintaining and strengthening bilateral cooperation.
The leader also expressed his high regard for and appreciation of Prime Minister Chinh’s significant contributions and sentiments to bilateral ties, affirming that the Vietnamese leader is always a close friend of Russia and its people, as well as a trusted comrade.
Russia stands ready to step up cooperation with Vietnam across all sectors, and is seeking to expand ties into new areas aligned with Vietnam’s development needs and Russia’s strengths, such as new energy, green transition, digital transformation, health care and high-quality workforce training, President Putin said.
PM Chinh conveyed the warm regards from Party General Secretary Lam, State President Cuong and other high-ranking leaders of Vietnam to President Putin.
Thanking the former Soviet Union and Russia today for their wholehearted support to Vietnam during its past struggle for independence and reunification, as well as in the present cause of national construction and development, PM Chinh affirmed that the Party, State and Government of Vietnam always attach importance to the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Vietnam hopes to work together with Russia to further deepen bilateral ties, building on longstanding traditions, harnessing each side’s potential and advantages, and advancing cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit to serve national development goals and the interests of both peoples, while contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large.
PM Chinh called President Putin a great friend who has made major contributions to the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia, helping to further strengthen and develop bilateral ties.
He expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum in bilateral relations in recent times, particularly the outcomes of Party General Secretary Lam’s official visit to Russia in May 2025, and the phone talks between the Party chief and President Putin immediately after the conclusion of Vietnam’s 14th National Party Congress, which helped shape strategic directions and inject fresh impetus into cooperation across multiple areas.
In the atmosphere of friendship, trust and sincerity, the two leaders briefed each other on their respective situations, as well as socio-economic development orientations and strategies. They expressed their satisfaction that thanks to the efforts of both governments, ministries, sectors and localities, the multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Russia has developed very positively in recent years. Delegation exchanges at all levels, particularly at the high level, have been maintained. Two-way trade has recorded solid growth. People-to-people exchanges have been held regularly, with an increasing number of Russian tourists visiting Vietnam, while Russia continues to attract more Vietnamese students.
On that basis, PM Chinh and President Putin held in-depth discussions on each country’s needs and potential to identify key areas and major directions for future bilateral cooperation in order to further deepen the Vietnam–Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, considering it a long-term strategic priority for both nations.
The two sides agreed on the need to continue strengthening political trust through the exchange of delegations at all levels across Party, State, Government, National Assembly, local, business and people-to-people channels; to effectively maintain existing cooperation mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental Committee on economic–trade and scientific–technical cooperation; and to study the establishment of new cooperation frameworks.
They also committed to promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation, encouraging and facilitating business operations and investment in each other’s markets; enhancing business connectivity; diversifying markets and supply chains; and addressing bottlenecks related to institutions, payments and transport, with a view to achieving balanced and sustainable growth in bilateral trade.
Both sides identified energy and oil and gas, science and technology, innovation, and infrastructure development as priority areas of cooepration aligned with each country’s development needs.
Speaking highly of efforts of both countries, including the two goverments, in striving to conclude negotiations and sign an agreement on the construction of the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant in Vietnam, ensuring safety, efficiency and compliance with international standards, President Putin described this as an important direction of cooperation, contributing to ensuring energy security and sustainable development. He pledged to direct the Russian Government to expedite next steps to soon launch the project, turning it into a new symbol of Vietnam–Russia friendship in the new era.
The two sides also supported closer cooperation and expanded investment by energy and oil and gas enterprises in each other’s territories in accordance with international law.
They underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in military-technical, security, and science and technology fields. The Vietnamese Government leader praised Russia’s basic sciences and advanced technologies, noting its position as a leading country in these areas. He proposed that building on the experience of the Vietnam–Russia Tropical Centre, the two side enhance cooperation in areas such as basic science, emerging and high technologies, biomedicine, and aerospace.
Both sides agreed to step up people-to-people exchanges and facilitate travel for citizens of the two countries, thereby promoting tourism and increasing the number of Russian visitors to Vietnam as well as Vietnamese visitors to Russia. President Putin assigned the Russian Foreign Ministry to consider visa exemptions for Vietnamese citizens. The two sides also agreed to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students to boost the number studying in Russia.
The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, and agreed to continue close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and ASEAN, contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
On this occasion, on behalf of the Party and State leaders of Vietnam, PM Chinh extended an invitation to President Putin to visit Vietnam at a convenient time. President Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure.
This was the final activity of PM Chinh during his official visit to Russia from March 22–25 at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Later the same day, the Prime Minister and the high-level Vietnamese delegation left Moscow for home, concluding the visit./.
