Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son holds talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (left) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On April 2, at the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries held talks.

In an atmosphere of warmth, friendship and trust, the two sides discussed and assessed the situation of Vietnam-Russia cooperation, discussed and agreed on many measures to further consolidate and enhance bilateral relations in all fields, and discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern.

The two Ministers discussed the best preparations for General Secretary To Lam 's visit and attendance at the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, Russia at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized that Vietnam consistently considers Russia one of the important, strategic and trustworthy priority partners in Vietnam's foreign policy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed and highly appreciated the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, which took place in the context of the two countries celebrating important days such as the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day, the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War and many exciting activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with a series of important foreign affairs activities by the two countries' senior leaders; affirming that Vietnam is a priority partner in Russia's foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region.

The two ministers highly appreciated the dynamic development of the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in all areas. Political relations have been constantly strengthened, with high levels of trust and regular exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones. Economic and trade cooperation has returned to positive growth.

The two sides were pleased to see that cooperation in the fields of defense, security, education and training, science and technology, culture, tourism, humanities and localities of the two countries continued to achieve impressive results despite many obstacles caused by the world geopolitical situation. The two countries' focus on removing difficulties and obstacles in cooperation and gradually restoring direct flights has created a strong leverage and driving force to promote effective cooperation in all fields.

Overview of the talks. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In order to promote the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia in the new context, especially as Vietnam enters a new era and Russia moves to a new stage of development, the two sides agreed to continue to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially visits by senior leaders through the Party, State, National Assembly channels and people-to-people exchanges; further strengthen cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs; expand and deepen cooperation in areas such as energy, especially green energy, renewable energy, transport infrastructure, logistics, science and technology, agriculture, biomedicine, culture, tourism, education and training; further promote the role of the Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement, focus on implementing key projects and developing new projects to soon make economic - trade and investment cooperation a pillar in Vietnam - Russia cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son thanked and requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies of Russia to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Russia to live, study and work stably, contributing to promoting the good traditional friendship between the people of the two countries; at the same time, requested Russia to continue considering visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens holding ordinary passports to promote tourism to Russia.

The two ministers also agreed to promote cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries and promote their role in coordinating relations to actively and effectively contribute to the bilateral relationship.

During the talks, the two sides also discussed and shared many issues on the international and regional situation of mutual concern. Vietnam highly appreciated Russia's role and contributions in multilateral organizations, agreed to continue to strengthen coordination in important organizations and forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN, BRICS as well as in responding to non-traditional security challenges; agreed to uphold and comply with international law, including the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) for maintaining peace, security, stability and cooperation in the region.

At the end of the talks, the two ministers held a press conference, announced the results of the talks and answered questions from reporters from both countries.

* On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son offered flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Monument in Moscow and laid a wreath at the Unknown Martyrs Monument.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/deputy-prime-minister-of-foreign-affairs-bui-thanh-son-hoi-dam-voi-bo-truong-ngoai-giao-nga-sergey-lavrov-697683.html