Special Envoy of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam, Politburo member, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, paid a courtesy call on Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 24 as part of his Russian visit to brief the host side on the outcomes of the 14th National Congress of the CPV.
Welcoming Trung, Putin once again congratulated the CPV on the success of the 14th Congress, and spoke highly of the results of his telephone talks with General Secretary Lam held immediately after the congress.
He held that General Secretary Lam’s re-election as the CPV's chief reflects the strong confidence of the Party and Vietnamese people. The Russian President expressed his belief that under the leadership of the CPV, headed by General Secretary Lam, Vietnam will successfully implement its strategic priorities, usher the country into a new era of strong and sustainable development, and fulfil the set goals.
Trung conveyed a message from General Secretary Lam to the Russian leader, stressing that the 14th National Party Congress fulfilled a major historical mission by comprehensively reviewing Vietnam’s revolutionary practice over 40 years of Doi Moi (Renewal), setting forth major goals, orientations and strategic breakthroughs shaping the future and destiny of the nation in a new development era. He affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam are determined to build a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilised and happy country, steadily advancing towards socialism.
In the new development era, Vietnam wishes and believes that Russia will continue to be a reliable and faithful companion, said the special envoy, affirming that further deepening the Vietnam–Russia comprehensive strategic partnership not only serves the national interests of both countries but also contributes positively to peace, stability and sustainable development in the region and the world.
Trung also briefed the Russian President on major orientations and three strategic breakthroughs set out by the 14th National Party Congress, noting that under the guidance of the two countries’ key leaders, Vietnam–Russia relations have developed dynamically and achieved many important results. Based on the orientations outlined in the message of General Secretary Lam, he reaffirmed Vietnam’s desire to strengthen cooperation with Russia in nuclear energy, oil and gas, maritime cooperation, defence and military-technical cooperation, science and technology, and transport.
Putin underscored that Russia consistently attaches importance to further developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam for the benefit of the two peoples. He described General Secretary Lam as a close friend and expressed his wish to welcome him to Russia at an early date. The Russian President voiced readiness to maintain regular contacts and exchanges with General Secretary Lam on strategic issues as well as bilateral relations, while seeking to further enhance the quality and effectiveness of cooperation in pillar areas such as energy, oil and gas and military-technical cooperation, and to expand collaboration to nuclear power, science and technology, and transport.
On this occasion, Trung conveyed General Secretary Lam’s invitation to Putin to visit Vietnam. The Russian President gladly accepted the invitation with pleasure.
Also on the afternoon of February 24, Trung held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In an atmosphere of sincerity, friendship and mutual trust, Trung informed the Russian FM of Vietnam’s foreign policy guidelines, orientations and key external tasks, emphasising that the 14th National Party Congress, for the first time, affirmed foreign affairs and international integration as a crucial and regular task.
Lavrov thanked Trung for sharing important, strategic orientations of the 14th National Party Congress, affirming that Vietnam is a priority partner in Russia’s foreign policy in the Asia–Pacific region.
The two sides reviewed and assessed bilateral cooperation, including coordination between the two foreign ministries, and agreed on various measures to further promote their role as focal points in consolidating and strengthening bilateral relations. They also exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual concern./.
