"The General Secretary's visit will bring Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations to new heights"

Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi gives an interview to Vietnam News Agency. Photo: Quang Vinh/VNA

Azerbaijan is the second stop of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation during their visit from May 5-12 to four countries: the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

Ahead of the visit, a reporter from the Vietnam News Agency in Central Asia had a conversation with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan Dang Minh Khoi about the significance of this visit for Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations and future prospects.

During the conversation, the Ambassador mentioned the prospects for the traditionally good relations between Vietnam and Azerbaijan, especially the impetus from the upcoming visit of General Secretary To Lam .

This May, at the invitation of the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation and Belarus, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State, visited the four countries mentioned above.

According to Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi, what is very special is that all four of these countries were members of the former Soviet Union. This year, Vietnam celebrates the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, which is essentially the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations with each of these countries.

Each country has its own mark, however, it can be said that the Azerbaijani people and the Azerbaijani Government in the past and present have had very friendly and traditional relations with the Vietnamese people.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan presented a Vietnamese ao dai to Ms. Leyla Aliyeva - Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation (Azerbaijan), at the Presidential Palace on the morning of April 22. Photo: Van Diep/VNA

It can be seen that Uncle Ho had visited Baku before the Soviet Union was founded in 1920. That was a milestone. Later, when Vietnam officially established relations with the Soviet Union in 1959, Uncle Ho made official visits to a series of Soviet Union republics, including Azerbaijan.

During his stay here, Uncle Ho visited industrial establishments, farms, met with the people, and met with the leaders of Azerbaijan. To this day, during my visits and work in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani people still recall the image of Uncle Ho visiting Azerbaijan in 1959.

The first President of the Republic of Azerbaijan after the collapse of the Soviet Union was Heydar Aliyev, who visited Vietnam in 1983 when he was a member of the Politburo and Permanent Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union.

He attended the inauguration ceremony of Thang Long Bridge and has special feelings for Vietnam. His son, current President Illam Aliyev, often recalls his father's visit to Vietnam.

Another thing to note is that during his visit to Azerbaijan, Uncle Ho visited the oil and gas facility of the Azerbaijan Petroleum University and asked the Soviet Union to help Vietnam develop the oil and gas industry after Vietnam's reunification.

After 1975, assigned by the Central Government of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan focused on training many Vietnamese students.

Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi said that about 5,000 Vietnamese students have studied in Baku, of which 2,000 students majored in the oil and gas industry.

These were very important individuals when Vietnam established the Vietsovpetro Joint Venture. Another very coincidental thing is that the first General Director of the Vietsovpetro Joint Venture was from Azerbaijan.

This visit by General Secretary To Lam is the highest-level visit by a Vietnamese Party and State leader to Azerbaijan since the establishment of official diplomatic relations between the two countries, and will contribute to further strengthening bilateral relations, especially in sectors where Azerbaijan has strengths, such as the oil and gas industry and many others.

Recently, Azerbaijan has opened up very strongly, this could be a very good gateway for Vietnam to further develop relations with Central Asian countries, and even with European countries. Vietnam is also ready to be a bridge for Azerbaijan to strengthen relations with East Asian countries.

Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi affirmed: "With the traditional friendship between the two countries, I firmly believe that General Secretary To Lam's visit to Azerbaijan will elevate the bilateral relationship to a new height, in line with the interests and aspirations of the people of the two countries, contributing further to maintaining peace and stability in the world."

According to Tam Hang-Quang Vinh (Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/chuyen-tham-cua-tong-bi-thu-se-dua-quan-he-viet-nam-azerbaijan-len-tam-cao-moi-post321614.html