IRIA News

At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc began a four-day official visit to Russia on November 29.

After their meeting in Moscow, Russian President Putin and Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a joint statement on November 30, highlighting the vision for the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries by 2030.

“The relations of comprehensive strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are based upon years-long traditions of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, laid down by the previous generations. They have been tested by time, they are not affected by conjuncture oscillations, and serve as an example of mutually respectful cooperation that corresponds to the basic interests of the two countries,” the statement that was published on the Kremlin’s website read.

The joint statement emphasized the “mutual intent for further promotion of relations of comprehensive strategic partnership” and noted their resolve “for further deepening of bilateral relations and escalation of these relations to a new level.”

The document underlined that “Russia and Vietnam do not enter alliances and do not sign agreements with third countries in order to carry out actions that harm each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and basic interests,” and that “the development of Russian-Vietnamese relations is not aimed against any third side.”

The statement further stated that both Russia and Vietnam will work hard to expand cooperation in various fields of the economy, as the two presidents pledged to create favorable conditions for the activities of Russian and Vietnamese oil and gas companies on each other’s territories.

Both Vietnam and Russia agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of agriculture, industry, forestry, finance, and credit. The two sides will continue to cooperate in the field of e-government and encourage the strengthening of regional ties, the statement added.

Vietnamese President Phuc during his meeting with Chairman of the State Duma of Russia Vyacheslav Volodin in Moscow on December 1, wished that the two legislatures would further support the inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

The joint statement further stated that Russia and Vietnam are ready to strengthen the ties between the security and law enforcement agencies of the two countries and expand military and technical cooperation.

“The sides will maintain regular contacts between defense and security agencies, including at the level of their chiefs, broaden relevant contacts in this area and ties in the sphere of personnel training,” the statement read.

During the bilateral talks, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Vietnamese Army General Phan Van Giang signed an interdepartmental memorandum on cooperation in the field of military history and an intergovernmental agreement to expand technical cooperation in the fields of defense trade and military technology cooperation. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the agreement is supported by a new plan for “joint work in the future”.

“We invariably pay priority attention to cooperation in the military and military-technical spheres. Vietnam is one of the key states in the Asia-Pacific region with modern and well-equipped armed forces,” the statement added.

On December 2, the Vietnamese pharmaceutical company VABIOTECH and Sovico Group, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) signed a cooperation agreement in Moscow for the supply and production of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in Vietnam.

The agreement also includes the expansion of Russian vaccines in Vietnam and neighboring countries and regions, as well as cooperation in technology transfer and quality inspection.

A joint statement issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense stated that the bilateral agreement is part of a new goal of deepening the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between Vietnam and Russia by 2030.

The new agreement aims to revive the defense trade relationship, as Vietnam is increasingly worried that its military deal with Moscow may harm its strategic relationship with the United States.

According to some diplomatic sources, Russia was keen to secure a port facility in the region, however, it is unclear at this point if Vietnam is willing to consider such a proposal, mainly due to its close strategic ties with the United States.