The Russian Federation celebrates its Russia Day on June 12. On this day in 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was adopted, marking the beginning of a new phase in the country's history.
Today, Russia is a country with a dynamic economy, great scientific and technological potential, and rich history and culture. Russian citizens enjoy basic rights and freedoms, have the opportunity to enjoy quality education and standard medical care, and have all the necessary conditions for a productive working and happy family life.
Russia is also an active and responsible member of the international community, pursuing an independent foreign policy. Russia looks towards boosting friendly relations with all countries on the basis of mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests. One of Russia's traditional and preferred partners in the Asia-Pacific region is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The former Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1950. The Soviet Union helped the heroic Vietnamese people during their years of struggle for independence and freedom as well as in the peace-building period.
A tradition of friendship and cooperation for mutual benefit has been built by previous generations through difficult years and is currently being promoted on the basis of bilateral relations. Twenty years ago, Russia and Vietnam signed a Joint Statement on a strategic partnership, and since 2012 the bilateral relationship has been upgraded to the comprehensive strategic partnership.
Currently, the cooperative relationship between the two countries is developing dynamically in a wide range of fields. Political dialogue is maintained regularly at the highest and high levels. Telephone talks have also taken place between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Medvedev Dmitry and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong; and between Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.
Exchanges have continued to be held between the heads of defence agencies of the two countries. Online conferences between the chairmen of the Russian and Vietnamese sub-committees under the Intergovernmental Committee for economic – commercial and scientific - technological cooperation have also been organised.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the working visit to Vietnam in March this year by the Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Patrushev Nikolai was a success.
In general, the trade-economic cooperation relationship between the two countries has expanded continuously. Thanks to the active efforts of the parties in the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam, signed on May 29, 2015, trade revenue between the two countries has increased. The bilateral trade turnover in 2020 rose by 15% compared to 2019, to US$5.7 billion. The good news is that this positive trend has continued this year.
Russia is pleased to acknowledge the effective performance of the Vietsovpetro Joint Venture, a “flagship” in the cooperation between the two countries in the field of oil and gas as well as the consistent implementation of joint venture projects of Russian companies including AO Zarubezhneft and PJSC Gazprom. Cooperation in the field of military and technical - military is also growing in a reliable and long-term manner, fully meeting the interests of both Russia and Vietnam.
The two countries have made efforts to promote cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic. The relevant ministries, sectors and agencies of Russia and Vietnam have exchanged experiences in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this disease. Negotiations are also underway on the supply and construction of a Russian Sputnik V vaccine production facility in Vietnam. Russia is very grateful to its Vietnamese friends for donating several batches of medical masks to Russia. For its part, Russia has transferred to Vietnam a batch of Sputnik V vaccine, medicines, testing systems and reagents for research.
Russia highly appreciates the activities of the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Centre which is one of the most important scientific and technical cooperation projects of the two countries. On this basis, over the past 30 years, many unique studies have been conducted in the areas of environmental safety, biology and chemistry, as well as in epidemiology and medicine in tropical conditions.
Education and training remains a traditional area of bilateral cooperation. In the 2020 – 2021 school year, the Russian Government granted Vietnam a quote of 965 for students wishing to study at leading Russian universities. In the next school year, 1,000 Vietnamese students will be allowed to study in Russia. Despite the decrease in cultural exchange activities due to the pandemic, the two countries still organised a Russian film week in Hanoi and a Vietnamese film week in Moscow in 2020.
Within the framework of the recent visit to Vietnam by Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Patrushev Nikolai, a grand inauguration ceremony of the monument of Alexander Pushkin was held in the capital city of Hanoi.
When life returns to normal after the pandemic, Russia and Vietnam can quickly restore the number of tourists moving between the two countries. Before the pandemic, Vietnam was one of the most popular destinations for Russian tourists. As many as 680,000 Russian citizens travelled to Vietnam for tourism in 2019. In addition, Vietnamese people's interest in tourist attractions in Russia is also increasing.
One of the most important cooperation directions between the two countries is coordination in the international arena. The two countries have similar stances on many international and regional issues, advocating the formation of a just and multipolar world order based on the standards of international law, respect for sovereignty and the interests of all parties. Russia and Vietnam have cooperated effectively at the United Nations Security Council. Vietnam was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term. We attach great importance to the development of the ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Partnership.
Thus, the multifaceted cooperation between Russia and Vietnam benefits both countries and is continuously growing in accordance with the agreements at the highest and high levels, in a spirit of comprehensive strategic partnership.
The foundation of this relationship is the solid tradition of friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding without dependence on temporary political situations. This allows the two countries to be optimistic and look to the future. The two countries and peoples are facing important tasks to promote bilateral relations in both established fields as well as new areas, for the stable development and prosperity of Russia and Vietnam and for peace and stability in both the region and the world.
