75th Anniversary of the Founding of the Vietnam - Soviet Union Friendship Association/Traditional Day of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association

Attending the ceremony were Mr. Gennady Bezdetko, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Vietnam; Mr. Phan Anh Son, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations; representatives of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association; Russian agencies and organizations in Vietnam; representatives of ministries, departments, branches, enterprises, alumni of Soviet/Russian universities;educational and training institutions teaching Russian in the Hanoi area; leaders and members of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association at the Central level, 31 provinces and cities and 18 branches under the Central Association...

On this occasion, the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Prime Minister for its many achievements in people-to-people diplomacy activities between Vietnam and the Russian Federation, contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland.

Professor Vladimir Buyanov, Chairman of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association sent a congratulatory letter to the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association.

Mr. Do Van Chien (far right), Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front , presented the Prime Minister's Certificate of Merit to the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

75 years of cultivating traditional solidarity and friendship

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Do Van Chien, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, said: The good traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Russian Federation has a long history, has been cultivated by many generations of leaders and people of the two countries, has been tested over time, affirms good values ​​in history and is an important premise for a brighter future.

Mr. Do Van Chien was pleased to see new developments in the Vietnam - Russian Federation relationship. Exchanges of delegations and contacts at all levels, especially at the highest level, are maintained regularly on all channels. Many cooperation mechanisms have been established in all areas: the economy is constantly developing, cooperation in defense, security, science, technology, culture, education, sports and people-to-people exchange is constantly expanding, consolidating and developing.

The recent visits of the two countries' leaders (Russian President Vladmir Putin visited Vietnam in June 2024; General Secretary To Lam paid an official visit to the Russian Federation and attended the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War in May 2025) have contributed to further strengthening political trust, opening up new directions for cooperation in areas commensurate with the level of Vietnam-Russia relations in the new historical period, for the development and prosperity of the two countries and meeting the long-term interests of the two countries and two peoples.

According to Mr. Do Van Chien, over the years, the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association has always closely followed the orientations and policies of the Party and State on people-to-people diplomacy, made many innovations in the content and forms of activities and focused on improving the practicality and effectiveness of its work.

The Association has implemented many meaningful and outstanding programs such as: organizing the translation and publication in Vietnam of books about the Russian people's feelings for President Ho Chi Minh; publishing a collection of translated poems about the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people; organizing practical scientific seminars on the role of people's diplomacy in developing Vietnam - Russia relations; organizing annual international children's painting competitions, art performances, and exhibitions in both countries to increase understanding of the country, people, and culture of the neighboring country as well as the traditional friendship and good cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. At the same time, the Association focuses on implementing many activities to introduce and connect organizations, universities, businesses, and localities of the two countries, building cooperative relations in the fields of education - training, culture, trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.

Mr. Do Van Chien, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, spoke at the Commemoration Ceremony. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

"The practice and results of the activities of the former Vietnam - Soviet Union Friendship Association and the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association today are vivid evidence that contributes to affirming the position and role of people's diplomacy. With the motto "proactive, flexible, creative, effective", with the composition and forces participating in a wide network of partners in all fields, the diverse and rich content and forms of cooperation show that the Vietnam - Russia people's diplomacy activities have the ability to cover many areas of social life", Mr. Do Van Chien emphasized.

Mr. Do Van Chien acknowledged and highly appreciated the efforts of generations of members of the Vietnam - Soviet Union / Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association at the central and local levels over the past many years, persistently contributing to the development of people-to-people relations between the two countries. The important results that the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association has achieved, together with the Party's foreign affairs and State diplomacy, have deepened the solidarity, traditional friendship and close ties between the people of Vietnam and Russia.

Mr. Do Van Chien congratulated the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association on receiving the Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister. This is the recognition of the Party and State for the Association's efforts in recent years, and also the expectation of the Party, State and people for innovation and creativity in the Association's activities in the coming time.

To successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party, determining to build a comprehensive and modern diplomacy with three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people's diplomacy, the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front proposed: The Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association at the central and local levels, grassroots level need to be more proactive, both consolidating friendships and existing partners, and building and expanding friendships with new partners, creating a diverse network of friends and partners, making the most of support, coordination and cooperation from people's organizations and individuals in the Russian Federation. Expand international relations, focusing on the younger generation, the press, the media, scholars and businessmen of the neighboring country. Diversifying partners, both in breadth and depth, must be considered the Association's key task in the coming time.

The Association needs to focus on attracting members, especially young members, youth, students, intellectuals, and businessmen to participate in Vietnam - Russia people's diplomacy activities; increase creativity, innovate methods and fields of operation to be able to widely approach subjects, flexibly deploy friendly exchange and cooperation activities, establish and deploy rich, diverse, direct and effective cooperation channels in many specific fields where Vietnam - Russia people's diplomacy has strengths such as: economic - trade cooperation, literature - art, science - technology, education - training, tourism, sports... Through that, it will help to enhance trust and mutual understanding between the two countries, while supplementing cooperation contents, contributing to deepening the Vietnam - Russian Federation Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Association needs to focus on innovating content and form, improving the quality and effectiveness of information and communication activities through cooperation with partners and people's organizations of the host country in the fields of journalism, culture, literature, art, etc. Thereby, making the Russian people understand more fully and deeply about Vietnam in the past, present and future, especially the Vietnamese people entering a new era - the era of national development; correctly understanding the guidelines, viewpoints, stances, domestic and foreign policies of Vietnam; widely promoting the image of the country, people, history, culture and good traditional values ​​of Vietnam to Russian and international friends.

Delegates take souvenir photos. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Mr. Do Van Chien suggested that the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association build a team of dedicated members and officials who love Russia and Russian culture. The Association needs to gather a core force of officials who are passionate about people's foreign affairs, good at foreign languages, understand the national and international situation, understand the country and culture, and history of Russia, have the skills to research, analyze, and synthesize the situation to have policy advice for the Party and State in the context of increasingly developing Vietnam - Russia relations and the future to serve the development of the country and the two peoples of Vietnam - Russia.

“We not only gather people who have studied, lived and worked in Russia, not only gather people who understand Russian, but also young people who love Russia and have never been to Russia to contribute to the development of the Association,” Mr. Do Van Chien suggested.

Mr. Do Van Chien believes that with the tradition of solidarity, friendship and deep attachment to the people and country of Russia, with the enthusiasm of the entire Board of Directors and members, the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association will continue to grow, achieve even greater achievements, and continue to be a solid and trustworthy bridge of friendship between the people of the two countries.

Continuing historical values, enhancing the role of people's diplomacy in Vietnam - Russia relations

Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Mr. Phan Chi Hieu, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, President of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association, said that over the past 75 years, the Vietnam - Soviet Union / Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association has continuously grown, operated in accordance with its principles and purposes, affirmed its position and role, and made many important contributions to developing and deepening the traditional solidarity and friendship between the people of the two countries, contributing to promoting the Vietnam - Russian Federation Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Mr. Phan Chi Hieu, Chairman of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association, spoke at the Ceremony. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

With these practical, specific and meaningful contributions, the Vietnam - Soviet Union / Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association and many individuals have been honored to receive many noble titles from the Party and State of the two countries such as: Friendship Medal between Peoples of the Soviet Union; Second Class Independence Medal, First Class Labor Medal; Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister.

"Each of us is more proud of the 75-year tradition of building and developing, more in love with the great country of Russia, more aware of the responsibility to join hands and contribute to building a strong Association, actively contributing to the development and deepening of the traditional solidarity and friendship between the people of Vietnam and the Russian Federation," Mr. Phan Chi Hieu affirmed.

Speaking at the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association's 75th anniversary, Mr. Gennady Bezdetko, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Vietnam, affirmed: People's diplomacy has long been an inseparable part of the overall Russia - Vietnam bilateral relations. This is an important channel for coordination of actions, as well as an effective tool to strengthen contacts and relations at the national level.

Mr. Gennady Bezdetko, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Vietnam, spoke at the Ceremony. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

According to the Ambassador, the core members of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association are continuing to pass on to the younger generation the memories of the common history between the two nations, connecting the hearts and souls of ordinary people, thereby contributing to strengthening the solidarity and mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. The Association is also actively disseminating objective and truthful information about contemporary Russia, organizing many cultural and mass activities associated with major holidays and events. In the current geopolitical context, the significance of these diverse activities is becoming increasingly profound and practical.

Ambassador Gennady Bezdetko emphasized that the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association has inherited the best traditions from the Vietnam - Soviet Union Friendship Association, which was formed from the contributions of outstanding political and social activists of the two countries. It is their sincere efforts, along with a clear awareness of the importance of constantly strengthening Russia - Vietnam relations, that have laid the material and spiritual foundation for mutually beneficial cooperation in many fields.

The Ambassador expressed his deep gratitude to the leaders and active members of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association for their practical contributions to strengthening the comprehensive relations between the two countries through people-to-people diplomacy. He affirmed that the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Vietnam is ready to cooperate closely with the Association on this meaningful journey.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/ky-niem-75-nam-ngay-thanh-lap-hoi-huu-nghi-viet-xongay-truyen-thong-hoi-huu-nghi-viet-nga-213748.html