HCM City eyes stronger cooperation with Russia's Saint Petersburg as Chairwoman of HCM City people’s Council Nguyen Thi Le (R) receives Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, Russia, Nikolai Bondarenko. (Photo: VNA)

Nikolai Bondarenko, along with a delegation of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, is on a working visit to HCM City.

Le highlighted the significance of the visit, and expressed her delight at the positive development of the friendship and cooperation between HCM City and Saint Petersburg over the years despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Le spoke highly of initiatives and efforts of Saint Petersburg to promote cooperative relations with HCM City and other localities in Vietnam, and agreed with the proposal to set up cooperation between the municipal People's Council and the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly, contributing to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two localities.

For his part, Bondarenko expressed his wish to cooperate with the municipal People’s Council, thus boosting twin relations between the two localities.

Sharing Saint Petersburg’s economic advantages, Bondarenko said it is ready to welcome HCM City’s businesses, noting that Vietnamese locality’s enterprises can explore cooperation opportunities in production, business and trade promotion.

He added that Saint Petersburg is preparing the inauguration of a statue in honour of President Ho Chi Minh.