Prime Minister Le Minh Hung meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow: Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo: VNA)

President Putin thanked the Vietnamese side for its close coordination and active contributions to the success of the ASEAN - Russia Commemorative Summit marking the 35th anniversary of their ties.

He singled out Vietnam as one of Russia’s most important partners and a close friend in the region, a key bridge to ASEAN and a driver of Russia’s cooperation initiatives there. He highly valued concrete gains in bilateral cooperation, above all steadily deepening political trust, which he called a solid foundation for expanding ties across the board.

Recalling recent meetings with Vietnamese leaders, President Putin sent his best regards to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and other key officials. He voiced confidence that Prime Minister Hung and the new Vietnamese Government would keep working with Russia to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on multiple fronts.

Prime Minister Hung, in reply, expressed his pleasure at visiting Russia for the first time in his new capacity. He conveyed greetings from General Secretary and President Lam and other Vietnamese Party and State leaders to President Putin, and congratulated the success of the ASEAN–Russia Commemorative Summit, saying that it has contributed to substantive and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and ASEAN member states.

The Vietnamese Party, State, and Government always consider Russia one of the most important partners in Vietnam’s foreign policy, he said, stressing that despite complex global developments, the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia continues to gain ground across multiple fields.

He affirmed that Vietnam’s new Government wishes to work closely with the Russian Government to push forward agreements reached between General Secretary and President Lam and President Putin, thereby elevating bilateral ties comprehensively.

The guest noted that following General Secretary Lam’s visit to Russia in May 2025, Vietnamese leaders instructed relevant agencies to draw up concrete plans for agreed-upon outcomes and regularly report progress. On that basis, he proposed that Russia continue to encourage both sides to turn those agreements into concrete results.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Hung and President Putin discussed directions and measures to create breakthroughs so that bilateral cooperation can deliver more tangible outcomes, strengthen the foundation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and serve the development goals of both countries.

Overview of the meeting between Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo: VNA)

The two sides agreed to increase regular and substantive dialogue through all channels and at all levels; maintain exchanges between senior leaders to promptly discuss bilateral and multilateral issues. They affirmed that defence and security cooperation remains a strategic pillar of bilateral ties and concurred to further strengthen collaboration in cybersecurity and exchanges between military personnel of the two countries.

Noting that Vietnam–Russia cooperation is entering a period of significant opportunities and potential, Prime Minister Hung and President Putin agreed to accelerate negotiations for the early implementation of the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant project. They affirmed that cooperation in energy, oil and gas, and nuclear power is one of the key pillars of bilateral relations and should be implemented in line with the agreed roadmap.

The two leaders also agreed on a number of directions for future cooperation in such areas as trade and investment, science and technology, education and training, transport, culture and tourism, with the aim of deepening bilateral collaboration.

In economic and trade cooperation, the two sides expressed their determination to raise bilateral trade to 15 billion USD in the near future. They consented to continue collaboration in mining, transport, shipbuilding, railway modernisation, the expansion of transport corridors, including international intermodal railway routes through China.

Prime Minister Hung proposed that Russia create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese products, particularly agricultural goods, to gain greater access to the Russian market. He also called for the removal of restrictions on certain Vietnamese seafood processing facilities exporting to Russia and the expansion of the list of enterprises eligible to export seafood products to Russia and other member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The Vietnamese leader further suggested that Russia consider negotiations to amend the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EAEU, including the complete removal of safeguard measures applied to Vietnamese textile, garment and footwear exports to Russia and the EAEU market.

Regarding tourism, education and people-to-people exchanges, President Putin expressed his desire to expand the teaching and learning of the Russian language in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and reaffirmed Russia’s continued support for Vietnamese students studying in the country.

The two sides agreed to promote tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, expedite the establishment of a Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Russia, consider the construction of a Russian school in Hanoi, and organise a Russian Cultural Season in Vietnam in 2027.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Hung invited President Putin to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, scheduled to be held in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, in 2027. He expressed his belief that the participation of President Putin and the Russian delegation would contribute to promoting cooperation, development, peace and stability in the region and the world.