Joint Statement on Establishing Vietnam-Belarus Strategic Partnership

On the occasion of the state visit to Belarus by General Secretary To Lam and his wife, Vietnam and Belarus issued a Joint Statement on establishing a Strategic Partnership.

VietNamNet is pleased to present the full text of the Joint Statement:

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Belarus have built and developed a traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation based on trust, equality, and mutual respect for the benefit of the people of both countries.

Building on the achievements of bilateral relations in all fields over the past 33 years, with firm belief in the immense potential and capacity to further develop Vietnam-Belarus relations, and in accordance with the aspirations of the people of both countries, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko agreed to sign a Joint Declaration on the establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Belarus during the State visit to the Republic of Belarus by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam from May 11 to 12, 2025.

The Strategic Partnership Framework will elevate Vietnam-Belarus relations to a new level on both bilateral and multilateral levels, consolidating and enhancing the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, and promoting the formation of new ones.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko presided over the welcoming ceremony for General Secretary To Lam .

The Vietnam-Belarus relationship is built on shared interests and adherence to the fundamental principles of international law and the United Nations Charter. These principles include: respect for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all states and their political systems; non-interference in each other's internal affairs; respect for and safeguarding each other's interests; and the promotion of peace, security, cooperation, development, and other common principles.

Within the framework of the Strategic Partnership, Vietnam and Belarus will continue to further deepen cooperation in the following areas to ensure the national interests of the people of both countries and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity in the region and the world.

POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY

Both sides agreed to strengthen contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, including high-level and top-level, through Party and State channels, within the framework of inter-parliamentary cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, improve the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, and research and establish new forms of cooperation between ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries.

Both sides wish to strengthen relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam and political parties of Belarus through exchanges of delegations at all levels, including high-level ones, and cooperation on issues of mutual interest, in order to consolidate a solid political foundation and contribute to promoting the sustainable and substantive development of bilateral relations.

Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between legislative bodies, enhance exchanges of delegations, bilateral and multilateral contacts, between leaders of legislative bodies, between committees and agencies of the National Assembly, parliamentary friendship groups, women's parliamentary groups, and young parliamentarian groups, and to promote the improvement and development of the legal basis for cooperation between the two parliaments in accordance with the new situation.

Both sides were pleased to note the positive progress in perfecting the legal framework for cooperation and expressed confidence that the documents signed within the framework of the visit of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam to the Republic of Belarus will contribute to deepening relations between Vietnam and Belarus in various fields.

Both sides agreed to maintain political consultations at the Deputy Foreign Minister level, maintain contact and consultation at the ministerial level and at the level of leaders of units within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs based on the Agreement on cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Belarus signed in March 2014; strengthen exchanges on bilateral cooperation, foreign policy, regional and international issues of mutual interest; and consider the possibility of establishing multilateral negotiation mechanisms.

NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Both sides are ready to promote exchanges of delegations at all levels, strengthen the exchange of experience, and boost cooperation in the field of defense and security, including cooperation in defense industry, training of military personnel and experts, etc.

Both sides also wish to strengthen contact between security and police forces, effectively implement signed cooperation agreements; enhance cooperation and information exchange in crime prevention; and coordinate in assessing and forecasting issues related to the national interests and security of both countries.

ECONOMY, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Economic cooperation is identified as one of the important pillars of bilateral relations. Based on the intergovernmental agreements signed on economic and trade cooperation (1992), on investment promotion and protection (1992), and on avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion on income and property taxes (1997), both sides agreed to strengthen the role and effectiveness of the Vietnam-Belarus Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade and scientific and technical cooperation, and to encourage the establishment of specialized subcommittees within the Intergovernmental Committee to review and evaluate the implementation of existing agreements and propose measures to exploit opportunities for economic and trade cooperation, create breakthroughs in trade, investment and industrial cooperation, and increase bilateral trade turnover commensurate with the Strategic Partnership.

Both sides are ready to facilitate the participation of the business community and investors in market research, product introduction, investment promotion, trade, and production and business cooperation. Both sides are ready to promote substantive, effective, and comprehensive economic cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as industry, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, science and technology, information and communication, and to expand cooperation in potential areas such as logistics, digital economy, digital transformation, and other fields.

Both sides agreed to strengthen agricultural cooperation through signed documents; enhance policy exchanges and agricultural development orientations, create a legal framework for the export of each side's key agricultural products; support research and application of high technology in the agricultural sector; and promote market opening for agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products to increase bilateral trade turnover.

To facilitate enhanced economic cooperation and ensure stable growth in Vietnam-Belarus trade turnover, both sides expressed their intention to actively develop bilateral trade infrastructure, including logistics, transportation and transshipment of goods, interbank cooperation, simplifying access to each other's domestic markets, and removing barriers to goods from each side. Both sides also agreed to effectively resolve difficulties and issues arising during implementation through constructive dialogue.

Both sides emphasized the importance of an open, fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory trade and investment environment based on international rules. Both sides will continue to actively and effectively implement and maximize the advantages of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and its member states (2015), facilitating access for investors from both countries to expand their business operations in each other's territories. Both sides will support each other in promoting economic cooperation and improving market access within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EAEU.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSPORTATION

Both sides agreed to promote the implementation of agreements within the framework of the Committee on Cooperation in Science and Technology; strengthen cooperation in research and development of high technology, digital technology, and innovation; and enhance cooperation on the peaceful use of atomic energy and nuclear radiation safety. Both sides will strengthen policy exchanges and orientations in the development of digital infrastructure and the digitalization of industrial complexes to ensure mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of digital transformation.

The two sides will strengthen cooperation in science, research and innovation, digital economy, digitalization, information security, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.

Both sides will also promote cooperation between higher education institutions, research institutes, and the business community in manufacturing and modernizing products to implement digital transformation and develop new technologies.

Both Parties agreed to develop and strengthen measures to promote security and integrity in research, in accordance with the laws of both Parties, to prevent third parties from exploiting joint research results.

Both sides agreed to strengthen the exchange of experience in cooperation on the development of railways, roads, air transport, and maritime transport; and to promote cooperation in air transport on the basis of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Air Transport (2007).

EDUCATION, TRAINING, LABOR, JUSTICE, LAW PROTECTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Both sides are ready to effectively implement cooperation within the framework of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Educational Cooperation (2023); including providing scholarships for students of the other side, strengthening comprehensive and continuous cooperation, supporting educational institutions in conducting exchanges of experts, lecturers and information, and supporting each other in training high-level experts.

Both sides agreed to effectively implement the Agreement between the two Governments on Vietnamese citizens working temporarily in Belarus and Belarusian citizens working temporarily in Vietnam (2011).

The two sides will strengthen coordination in the field of justice and law enforcement within the framework of signed documents, including: the Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Belarus (1999); the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters (2000); the Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons for the Continued Execution of Sentences (2023), and develop effective solutions to promote cooperation in this field.

Both sides are ready to work together in responding to climate change, including combating desertification and greening the land. This includes studying the possibility of selecting Vietnamese crops suitable for Belarusian soil for cultivation in Belarus, and Belarusian crops suitable for Vietnamese soil for cultivation in Vietnam. Both sides will explore the possibility of implementing joint programs and projects to mitigate the consequences of climate change, protect the environment, and promote green growth.

CULTURE, SPORTS, TOURISM AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGE

The two sides will coordinate to promote cultural cooperation in various fields, including sharing information, images, and documents on the socio-economic and cultural development of Vietnam and Belarus to enhance mutual understanding and promote direct contact between cultural agencies; strengthening the development and implementation of cultural and historical exchange and promotion programs, organizing Culture Days in each other's territories; promoting the exchange of cultural, artistic, and sports delegations between the two sides; and effectively implementing cooperation programs in the cultural field.

Both sides are ready to strengthen cooperation in the restoration, preservation, and rehabilitation of historical and cultural relics and intangible heritage; enhance the promotion of the tourism potential and strengths of both sides; and actively exchange experiences and information on policies and management in the field of tourism.

Both sides agreed to facilitate increased mutual understanding between citizens of the two countries through people's organizations and social organizations in Vietnam and Belarus; to further promote friendly exchanges between the people of the two countries, including the signing of new documents to establish sister city relationships between localities of the two countries, to establish and increase the frequency of direct flights, and to expand the scope of cooperation between people's friendship organizations... Both sides noted that the visa exemption agreement for holders of ordinary passports signed in 2023 will significantly contribute to promoting cooperation on the people's channel in the future.

COLLABORATION IN MULTILATERAL FORUMS

Both sides are ready to enhance the exchange of views, expand and deepen cooperation, closely coordinate common positions, and consider supporting each other in international organizations and regional and multilateral forums, primarily the United Nations, the EAEU, BRICS, ASEAN, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Non-Aligned Movement, and other organizations and groups of countries. Both sides will strengthen consultations and coordinate approaches to regional and international issues, supporting effective international responses to traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including epidemics, climate change, terrorism, transnational crime, cybercrime, food security, energy and water security, as well as other issues of common concern.

Both sides emphasized the universality and integrity of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), which serves as the legal foundation for all activities in the seas and oceans, affirming the need to maintain the integrity of the Convention and other international legal instruments adopted to develop its provisions.

A matter of fundamental principle is that the provisions of this Universal International Convention be applied consistently so as not to prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of the States Parties to this Convention, including landlocked states, and not to threaten the integrity of the legal status set forth in UNCLOS 1982, including the exercise of freedom of navigation.

Both sides also emphasized the important role of UNCLOS 1982 in strengthening peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all states in the maritime space, as well as in ensuring the use of all seas and oceans for economic and other peaceful purposes in accordance with the principles and tenets of the United Nations as set forth in the UN Charter.

The two sides will cooperate to ensure security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded commercial activities. Both sides support restraint, the non-use of force or the threat of force, and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the principles of international law, including the United Nations Charter and the 1982 UNCLOS. Both sides support the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and welcome efforts to achieve an early, substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) consistent with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY IN BELARUS

Both sides will actively support and facilitate the Vietnamese community in Belarus to help them contribute to the traditional friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Foreign Ministers of the two countries will coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to develop, as soon as possible, a Plan (Roadmap) for the development of cooperation between Vietnam and Belarus to achieve the objectives stated in the Joint Declaration.

Done in Minsk on May 12, 2025, in two original copies, one in Vietnamese and one in Russian, both texts being equally authentic.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tuyen-bo-chung-ve-thiet-lap-quan-he-doi-tac-chien-luoc-viet-nam-va-belarus-2400431.html