Third Vietnam-Russia University Presidents’ Conference opens in Hanoi

The Third Vietnam-Russia University Presidents' Conference opens in Hanoi. (Source: VGP)

This is a key event of the Vietnam-Russia Year of Science and Education 2026, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam in May 2025, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Vietnam.

The conference is co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, and Lomonosov Moscow State University. Attendees include: Politburo Member, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc, Chairman of the Vietnam Subcommittee in the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation;

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko Dmitry Nikolaevich, Chairman of the Russian Subcommittee in the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, delivered a welcome speech online; Central Committee members: Hoang Minh Son, Minister of Education and Training; Phan Chi Hieu, Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association; Prof. Tran Hong Thai, President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, along with representatives from central ministries and agencies; Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Mogilevsky Konstantin Ilyich; Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko, leaders of 68 Vietnamese universities, and 62 Russian universities.

Politburo Member, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc speaks at the conference. (Source: Ministry of Education and Training)

In his opening remarks, Politburo Member, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc expressed sincere gratitude to the State, Government, universities, and scientists of Russia for their affection and valuable support to Vietnam over the years.

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc emphasized that the Third Vietnam-Russia University Presidents' Conference holds special significance, being a central activity of the Vietnam-Russia Year of Science and Education 2026, taking place amidst the strong promotion and development of traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The highest leaders of both countries have agreed to redefine and elevate bilateral relations across all fields in the new era of development, including education and training cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc stated: Over the decades, Russia and formerly the Soviet Union have supported Vietnam in training tens of thousands of scientific, technical, expert, and high-level management personnel. Many of them have held and continue to hold important roles in the Party, State agencies, research institutes, universities, and enterprises in Vietnam, contributing positively to the nation's construction, defense, and development.

The 2024 cooperation agreement in higher education between the Governments of Vietnam and Russia, along with the annual allocation of 1,000 scholarships by the Russian Government to Vietnam, is clear evidence of the commitment and determination for effective, close cooperation in education, significantly contributing to the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Regarding this Vietnam-Russia University Presidents' Conference, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc emphasized: This is an important forum connecting educational institutions from both sides, realizing and concretizing the commitments of the high-level leaders of the two countries to promote educational cooperation in general and higher education in particular between Vietnam and Russia.

The Deputy Prime Minister hopes that the conference will achieve many practical results, opening up new cooperation programs, training linkages, scientific research cooperation, academic exchanges, faculty and student exchanges, and the establishment of branches in Vietnam, contributing to enhancing the quality of higher education, training high-quality human resources, and strengthening the friendship between the peoples of Vietnam and Russia. This reaffirms the determination of the Vietnamese Government to create favourable conditions and support for educational cooperation between Vietnam and Russia to continue to develop strongly, substantively, and effectively in the future.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko Dmitryi Nikolaevich delivers via video a welcome speech. (Source: Russian Embassy in Vietnam)

Speaking via video, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko Dmitryi Nikolaevich stated: Currently, cooperation in human resource training, scientific research, and higher education continues to be a focal point of the Vietnam-Russia partnership, contributing to mutual trust and laying a solid foundation for expanding bilateral relations in various fields.

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that this cooperation has achieved significant results, with more than 500 agreements between universities and scientific organizations, about 3,000 Vietnamese citizens studying at Russian higher education institutions, and an annual government scholarship quota—one of the largest—reaching up to 1,000 free scholarships. The 'cross' Year of Science and Education announced by Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and General Secretary To Lam has provided new impetus. The University Presidents' Forum is the central event of this year of cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko outlined key topics of the Forum, such as the development of technical education, training personnel for the nuclear industry, information security, joint education programs, and intercultural dialogue.

Referring to the signing of the Operating Regulations of the A.X. Pushkin Russian Language Centre within the framework of this conference, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated Vietnam's interest in the Russian language. Russian language teaching has been implemented in Vietnam for over 70 years; since 2021, Russian has been included in the list of first foreign languages in Vietnamese schools. Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko Dmitryi Nikolaevich is confident that the A.X. Pushkin Russian Language Centre will become a leading hub in preparing Vietnamese candidates wishing to study at top Russian universities, while also making practical contributions to further strengthening the humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.

At the conference, Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son stated that this event holds special significance, contributing to promoting educational and training cooperation between the two countries and is a prominent highlight in the series of activities of the Vietnam-Russia Year of Science and Education 2026. According to Minister Hoang Minh Son, there are over 400 active cooperation agreements, and nearly 50 new cooperation documents will be signed within the framework of this conference. This affirms that higher education cooperation between the two countries is developing very dynamically, substantively, and with great potential.

To deepen cooperation, Minister Hoang Minh Son suggested that the conference focus on exchanging and discussing the strong promotion of forming Vietnam-Russia innovation and joint research centers in cutting-edge technology fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, digital technology, smart transportation infrastructure, health sciences, and environmental technology.

These centres will conduct research projects and serve as spaces for experimenting, incubating, and transferring ideas into products. Additionally, establishing a two-way technology transfer mechanism between scientists from both countries is essential to ensure that Russian research results are effectively implemented in Vietnam, while Vietnamese initiatives can also be accessed and expanded in Russia.

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc witnesses the signing of the Regulations on the Pushkin Centre at the Hanoi Branch of the Pushkin Russian Language Institute between the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia. (Source: VGP)

Minister Son also proposed enhancing faculty exchanges; forming outstanding international research groups with the participation of lecturers and scientists from both countries; proactively connecting with businesses to boost innovation and entrepreneurship among students; promoting the internationalization of higher education; and strengthening cooperation in digital education transformation.

"The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam is committed to continuing to improve the institutional framework, creating a favourable environment to promote international cooperation in higher education, science, technology, and innovation, while closely coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia to support higher education institutions on both sides in effectively implementing cooperation agreements," said Minister Hoang Minh Son.

The conference takes place over two days, May 22 and 23, 2026. The thematic discussion sessions of the conference focus on two major content groups: cooperation in training and research in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, and technology; cooperation in training and research in the fields of economics, language, culture, and social sciences and humanities.

Within the framework of the conference, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia signed the Organizational and Operational Regulations of the A.X. Pushkin Russian Language Centre. This is a specific implementation step following the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Russia on the establishment and operation of the A.X. Pushkin Russian Language Centre, contributing to promoting the dissemination and teaching of the Russian language in Vietnam, enhancing the teaching of Vietnamese language and culture in Russia, thereby deepening linguistic, cultural, and academic exchanges between the peoples of the two countries.

Many cooperation documents were also signed by higher education institutions from both countries at this conference to expand joint training programs, co-supervise doctoral candidates, academic exchanges, research cooperation, and technology transfer.

On the sidelines of the forum, an exhibition for Vietnamese students took place, where Russian universities introduced their training programs.

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