Prime Minister’s visit to Russia: Vietnam–Russia ties determined to surpass limits
WVR - The official visit to Russia by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is a significant event, contributing to strengthening the traditional relationship between Vietnam and Russia, and laying the groundwork for both countries to realize their development aspirations in the future.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 25, 2026. (Source: Kremlin.ru) |
With a packed schedule and practical outcomes, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Russia (March 22-25) is a concrete implementation of the foreign policy outlined at the 14th National Party Congress. It highlights the pioneering role of foreign affairs in leveraging resources and creating opportunities to serve national development in the new era, while reaffirming the enduring relationship and aiming to elevate comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Russia.
This visit was in response to an invitation from Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who officially visited Vietnam in January 2025. It also marks the first visit by a key Vietnamese leader to Russia in 2026, kicking off a series of important events and high-level engagements.
Notably, the visit occurs as Vietnam has successfully organized the 14th National Party Congress, the election of the 16th National Assembly, and the People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term, with grand aspirations for national growth. Thus, the visit is a testament to Vietnam’s determination to boost economic development and garner international support and cooperation, including from Russia – a companion for over 75 years with proud achievements, serving as a significant motivation for both nations to advance in the new development phase.
During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Vladimir Putin; held talks with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin; met with Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin; met with Secretary of the Security Council Sergey Shoigu; and received Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. He also witnessed the signing of several important cooperation agreements, attended the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum, and visited economic, scientific, and educational institutions, creating momentum to boost bilateral cooperation across various fields.
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| Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin welcomes Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 23, 2026. (Source: VGP) |
Elevating comprehensive cooperation
The Vietnam-Russia relationship over the past 75 years is a testament to the enduring bond that transcends time and distance. This is evident through recent events, such as after the 14th National Party Congress, President Vladimir Putin was the first foreign leader to call and congratulate General Secretary To Lam. Vietnam also sent a special envoy of General Secretary To Lam, Politburo member, and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung to Russia to inform the Congress results. This spirit continued to be reinforced through high-level exchanges between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Russian leaders during this visit.
Russian leaders believe that the major policies outlined by Vietnam at the 14th National Party Congress will facilitate the development of the S-shaped country in the coming time. They also affirm the importance of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, considering Vietnam a leading important partner in Asia-Pacific and expressing a desire to enhance cooperation in all fields.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed Vietnam's steadfast foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization, considering Russia a reliable friend and a leading important partner in Europe. Vietnam always values the close ties of Russian leaders and people, prioritizing the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia.
From this solid political trust foundation, both sides exchanged and agreed on directions to overcome difficulties and obstacles, determined to promote comprehensive cooperation, redefine and elevate relations in all fields, deepening and sustaining the relationship for the benefit of both peoples, and for peace and stability in the region and the world.
The key areas of cooperation include economy-trade-investment, energy-oil and gas, agriculture, transportation, logistics, education-training, culture, tourism, science-technology, local cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, with economy-trade-investment identified as the "spearhead and pioneer".
Listening, acting, surpassing limits
| During the visit, President Vladimir Putin 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. President Vladimir Putin emphasized that 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. |
True to the spirit of "actions speak louder than words" often emphasized by the Head of the Vietnamese Government in efforts to bring policies into practical implementation, throughout the visit to Russia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh devoted significant time and effort to meeting with partner companies, visiting key Russian economic facilities, and inspiring businesses from both countries at the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum.
At the Forum, emphasizing that challenges are a test of cooperation, the issue is the determination to surpass limits to enhance the connection between the two economies and business communities. The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam considers Russia a top partner in Europe and called on both sides to effectively exploit potential and advantages to overcome challenges.
"Challenges are just a test" is also the spirit of the Vietnam-Russia railway cooperation, aiming to robustly restore international railway transport between the two countries, as desired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh when meeting with Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov, General Director and Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways. Highlighting many issues "no matter how difficult, solutions must be found", such as practical problems in transportation and settlement, the Prime Minister affirmed that high-level leaders of both countries are "warming up", but the railway companies of Vietnam and Russia must be "burning" with this important cooperation field.
Notably, energy-oil and gas cooperation, an important symbol between the two countries, continues to be strengthened and developed during the visit, especially significant in the current context of ensuring energy security.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin witness the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in Building a Nuclear Power Plant in Vietnam on March 23, 2026. (Source: VGP) |
The signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in Building a Nuclear Power Plant in Vietnam, witnessed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, is seen as a significant step forward in bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and a new symbol of Vietnam-Russia friendship. As soon as the Agreement was signed, Russian media prominently featured this important news, also noting that in the context of rapidly increasing energy demand in Vietnam, this is a "timely and strategic" step.
Additionally, the energy cooperation story is further nurtured and holds more expectations as the Prime Minister personally visited Russia's Atomic Energy Museum, worked with Novatek (a leading Russian and global natural gas company), and Zarubezhneft (a leading Vietnamese partner in the oil and gas sector). Both sides wish to expand research and cooperation in new energy, clean energy, renewable energy, contributing to green transition and sustainable development.
Human resources are a valuable asset in the friendship between Vietnam and Russia over more than seven decades. Therefore, humanitarian cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, including education and training cooperation, are indispensable highlights in each high-level exchange to ensure that the precious tradition of friendship and cooperation between the two nations is continued and nurtured by successive generations. Messages about "keeping the flame" of friendship, steadfastness, and trust between Vietnam and the former Soviet Union and today's Russia were conveyed by the Prime Minister to the previous generation when meeting with the delegation of the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association and Russian veterans, as well as to the future generation when meeting with students at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISIS).
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Russia was successful not only in establishing a new symbol in bilateral cooperation but also in its comprehensive nature across all cooperation aspects, with a determination to achieve substantial results, "surpassing their own limits", contributing to the strong development of the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the future, for the benefit of both peoples, and contributing to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
