Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi highlights a new atmosphere in Vietnam-Russia relations
WVR - On the occasion of the official visit to Vietnam by Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia Vyacheslav Volodin, who also will co-chair the 4th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Russian State Duma, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi shared with The World and Vietnam Report the key focuses of the visit and the recent atmosphere of cooperation between the two countries.
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| General Secretary To Lam holds a private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his official visit to Russia in May 2025. (Source: VNA) |
How do you evaluate the progress in bilateral relations since General Secretary To Lam's visit to Russia in May 2025?
The official visit to the Russian Federation, attending the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War by General Secretary To Lam in May 2025, was a great success. It not only strengthened the long-standing traditional friendship but also marked a breakthrough, ushering the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into a new phase of development based on high political trust.
Of particular importance is the high-level consensus between the leaders of the two countries on the determination to "renew" the relationship, making bilateral cooperation increasingly substantive and effective, meeting the interests and development needs of each country in the new era.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Russia) |
This visit reciprocates Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to Vietnam in June 2024.
Implementing the "Joint Statement on major orientations for Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the new phase", cooperation agreements were signed during the visit in fields such as diplomacy, defense, oil and gas, peaceful use of nuclear energy, science and technology, education and training...
It can be said that Vietnam-Russia relations are transforming, gaining strong momentum for truly comprehensive cooperation. Political relations are becoming more trustworthy, and cooperation in various fields is more dynamic and effective, especially in economic and trade cooperation. Both sides are finding new motivations for traditional cooperation fields while expanding into new, potential areas such as science and technology and healthcare.
Dialogue and contact between the high-ranking leaders of the two countries continue to be maintained regularly, further enhancing political trust – a key factor for Vietnam and Russia to strengthen strategic cooperation.
President Luong Cuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had bilateral meetings with President V. Putin in China on the occasion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit (August 31) and the 80th anniversary of the world's victory over fascism (September 3).
Following our General Secretary's visit, recently, high-ranking Russian leaders - First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly, Secretary of the General Council of the "United Russia" Party V. Yakushev attended the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day of Vietnam. Russia also, for the first time, sent military personnel to participate in Vietnam's parade on this occasion.
Chairman of the Russian State Duma V. Volodin is preparing to visit Vietnam. Both countries cherish the historical values associated with the significant anniversaries in 2025 and demonstrate this through concrete actions.
Additionally, there have been noticeable movements in cooperation between the two countries recently, following the General Secretary's visit, in fields such as energy, healthcare, culture, tourism, and construction... Notably, for the first time, Vietnam organized a Cultural Festival at Red Square (July 25-August 3), attracting nearly 1 million visitors. Subsequently, Vietnam's representative - singer Duc Phuc participated and won at the Intervision international music competition hosted by Russia (September 20), truly bringing a new atmosphere to Vietnam-Russia cooperation, closely connecting the two countries and peoples, and creating favourable conditions to promote cooperation in other fields, contributing to "renewing" the relationship.
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| Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly Vyacheslav Victorovich Volodin welcomes Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man during his official visit to Russia in September 2024. (Source: VGP) |
Could you evaluate the significance and key focuses of Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly Vyacheslav Volodin's visit to Vietnam this time? What are the highlights of the 4th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the two countries?
At the invitation of Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly (Lower House) Vyacheslav Volodin will officially visit Vietnam from September 28-30, attending the 4th session of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. This is Mr. Volodin's third visit to Vietnam as Chairman of the State Duma.
This visit by Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin is part of the cooperation framework between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Russian Parliament, taking place in a year when the two countries commemorate many significant events in their bilateral relations as well as within each country, such as the 75th anniversary of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic relations, the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and the 80th anniversary of the National Day of Vietnam.
Therefore, the visit holds significant importance.
Firstly, the visit demonstrates the two countries' appreciation of their traditional friendship and determination to strengthen and deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The visit is an important event in Vietnam-Russia relations in 2025, following high-level activities from both sides since the beginning of the year: The official visit to Vietnam by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (January 2025), especially the official visit to Russia by General Secretary To Lam (May 2025), affirming the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, inheriting the tradition of cooperative friendship built and nurtured over the past 75 years, entering a new era with a new mindset and increasing political trust.
Secondly, the visit aims to promote the implementation of major directions to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as exchanged and agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries during President Vladimir Putin's state visit to Vietnam (June 2024) and General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Russia (May 2025).
The parliaments of the two countries, as the highest legislative bodies, play an important role in creating the legal framework for bilateral cooperation and overseeing the implementation of high-level agreements.
Thirdly, the visit reflects the increasingly important role of the Parliament in promoting bilateral cooperation and inter-parliamentary cooperation worldwide.
Fourthly, the visit contributes to strengthening cooperation between the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly in particular, the Russian Federal Assembly in general, and the Vietnamese National Assembly - one of the key political cooperation contents of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; enhancing exchanges, contacts, and coordination between specialized committees, friendship parliamentary groups of the two countries, as well as coordinated actions at international and regional inter-parliamentary forums.
The visit is an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to comprehensively exchange bilateral cooperation issues, from economy, trade, energy, oil and gas, science and technology to education, culture, defense, security, and people-to-people exchanges... as well as cooperation between the two parliaments; promoting key cooperation projects, resolving existing issues, and determining cooperation directions in the near future.
During the visit, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly Vyacheslav Volodin and Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man will co-chair the 4th session of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.
This is the highest and first inter-parliamentary cooperation mechanism between our National Assembly and a foreign legislative body. At this session, the two sides will share legislative experience, perform the supervisory role of the two parliaments in implementing cooperation, and exchange solutions to guide the governments of the two countries in addressing specific difficulties and obstacles in current bilateral cooperation, especially promoting the search for new motivations, effectively exploiting potential-rich fields such as science and technology, education and training that we have not yet fully utilized to achieve the goal of "renewing relations" and elevating cooperation.
This is already the 4th session of the Committee. Both sides have experience in coordination and work, and I am confident that the meeting will be a great success.
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| Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi congratulates Vietnam's artist Phuc on winning the Intervision international music competition hosted by Russia on September 20. (Photo: Tam Hang) |
Recently, the two countries have actively coordinated to promote key cooperation projects in many fields. How will cooperation and experience sharing between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Russian State Duma play a role in resolving bottlenecks and building more bridges of cooperation between the two countries in the future?
As legislative bodies, cooperation, coordination, and experience sharing between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly, through the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee mechanism, and exchanges through specialized committees, are important in overseeing the implementation of agreements between the high-ranking leaders of the two countries, creating a favourable business environment, economic-trade cooperation, and investment for businesses and people of both sides, as well as building a comprehensive and timely legal framework to effectively implement bilateral cooperation.
Besides inter-governmental committees, the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee is one of the important cooperation mechanisms contributing to promoting bilateral cooperation.
The third session (September 2024) included participation from government representatives of both countries, allowing many issues to be resolved. If this mechanism continues to be effectively maintained, cooperation through the parliamentary channel will continue to play a positive role in resolving difficulties and obstacles and promoting key cooperation projects in the energy sector.
The specialized committees of the two parliaments can promote expanded cooperation in science and technology, education and training, which are fields where Russia has significant potential and strengths, and we have a great demand to serve development goals in the new era. Additionally, I believe there are two issues that both sides need to consider promoting: the travel of citizens between the two countries and labour cooperation.
Thank you very much, Ambassador!
