Joint Statement on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between...

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

On the basis of the achievements of bilateral relations in all fields over the past 33 years, with a firm belief in the great potential and ability to continue developing Vietnam - Belarus relations and in accordance with the aspirations of the people of the two 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 Statement on establishing a Strategic Partnership between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Belarus on the occasion of 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.

General Secretary To Lam and President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed a Joint Statement on establishing the Vietnam-Belarus Strategic Partnership. Photo: nhandan.vn

The Strategic Partnership Framework will elevate Vietnam-Belarus relations to a new height on both bilateral and multilateral levels, consolidate and enhance the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, and promote the formation of new mechanisms.

Vietnam - Belarus relations are built on the basis of common interests and compliance with 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 and guarantee of each other's interests; promotion of peace, security, cooperation, development and other common principles.

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

POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY

The two sides agreed to increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, including high-level and highest-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 study and establish new forms of cooperation between ministries, branches and localities of the two countries.

The two 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 concern to consolidate a solid political foundation, contributing to promoting sustainable and substantive development of bilateral relations.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between legislative bodies, increase delegation exchanges, bilateral and multilateral contacts, between leaders of legislative bodies, between committees and agencies of the National Assembly, Friendship Parliamentarians' Groups, Women Parliamentarians' Groups, Young Parliamentarians' Groups, and promote the completion and development of the legal basis for cooperation between the two countries' National Assemblies in accordance with the new situation.

The two sides noted with satisfaction the active completion of the legal basis for cooperation and expressed confidence that the documents signed within the framework of the visit to the Republic of Belarus by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam will contribute to deepening the relations between Vietnam and Belarus in various fields.

The two sides agreed to maintain political consultations at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers, maintain contacts and consultations at the level of Ministry Leaders and Unit Leaders within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the basis of the Agreement on cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries of Vietnam and Belarus signed in March 2014; increase exchanges on bilateral cooperation, foreign policy, regional and international issues of mutual concern; consider the possibility of establishing multilateral negotiation mechanisms.

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

The two sides are willing to promote delegation exchanges at all levels, enhance experience sharing and boost cooperation in the fields of defense and security, including cooperation in defense industry, military and expert training, etc.

The two sides also wish to increase contact between security forces and police, effectively implement signed cooperation agreements; enhance cooperation, information exchange, crime prevention; coordinate assessment and forecast of issues related to national interests and security of the two countries.

ECONOMY, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Economic cooperation is identified as one of the important pillars of bilateral relations. Based on the signed Intergovernmental Agreements on economic and trade cooperation (1992), on investment promotion and protection (1992), on double taxation avoidance and prevention of tax evasion with respect to taxes on income and property (1997), the two sides agreed to enhance the role and effectiveness of the Vietnam - Belarus Intergovernmental Committee on economic - trade and scientific - technical cooperation, 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 - trade cooperation, create a breakthrough in trade, investment and industrial cooperation, increase bilateral trade turnover, commensurate with the Strategic Partnership.

The two sides are willing to create favorable conditions for the business community and investors to participate in market research, product introduction, investment and trade promotion and production and business cooperation. The two sides are willing to promote substantive, effective and comprehensive economic cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as industry, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, science - technology, information and communications and expand cooperation in potential areas such as logistics, digital economy, digital transformation and other areas.

The two sides agreed to strengthen agricultural cooperation through signed documents; increase 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; promote the opening of agricultural, forestry and fishery markets to increase bilateral trade turnover.

In order to facilitate the enhancement of economic cooperation and ensure stable growth of Vietnam-Belarus trade turnover, the two sides expressed their intention to actively develop bilateral trade infrastructure, including logistics, transport and transit of goods, inter-bank cooperation, simplify access to the domestic market of the other side and remove barriers to goods of each side. The two sides also agreed to effectively resolve difficulties and problems arising during the implementation process through constructive dialogue.

The two sides emphasized the importance of an open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory trade and investment environment based on international rules. The two sides will continue to actively and effectively coordinate and exploit the maximum advantages of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and its member states (2015), creating favorable conditions for investors of the two countries to access and expand business activities in each other's territories. The two sides will support each other in promoting economic cooperation and improving access to the markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EAEU.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSPORT

The two sides agreed to promote the implementation of agreements within the framework of the Science and Technology Cooperation Committee; enhance cooperation in research, development of high technology, digital technology, innovation; enhance cooperation in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and cooperation in nuclear radiation safety. The two sides will enhance the exchange of policies and orientations in the development of digital infrastructure and 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 cyber security.

The two sides will also promote cooperation between higher education institutions, research institutes and the business community in manufacturing and product modernization to realize digital transformation and develop new technologies.

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

The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of experience in cooperation in developing railways, roads, airways and sea routes; and promote air transport cooperation on the basis of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Air Transport (2007).

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

The two 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, enhancing comprehensive and continuous cooperation, supporting educational institutions to conduct exchanges of experts, lecturers and information, and supporting each other in training highly qualified experts.

The two sides agreed to effectively implement the Agreement between the two Governments on Vietnamese citizens working for a fixed term in Belarus and Belarusian citizens working for a fixed term in Vietnam (2011).

The two sides will strengthen coordination in the field of justice and law protection within the framework of signed documents, including: Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Belarus (1999); Agreement on mutual legal and judicial assistance in civil, family and criminal matters (2000); Agreement on transfer of sentenced persons for further execution of sentences (2023) and have effective solutions to promote cooperation in this field.

The two sides are ready to make joint efforts in responding to climate change, including combating desertification and greening the land, including studying the possibility of selecting Vietnamese crops suitable for Belarusian soil to be grown in Belarus and Belarusian crops suitable for Vietnamese soil to be grown in Vietnam. The two sides will explore the possibility of implementing joint programs and projects on mitigating the consequences of climate change, environmental protection and green growth.

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

The two sides will coordinate to promote cultural cooperation in many fields, including sharing information, images and documents on the socio-economic and cultural development of Vietnam and Belarus to enhance mutual understanding, promote direct contact between cultural agencies; strengthen the development and implementation of exchange and promotion programs on culture and history, organize Cultural Days in each other's territories; promote the exchange of cultural, artistic and sports delegations of the two sides; effectively implement cooperation programs in the cultural field.

The two sides are willing to enhance cooperation in the restoration, embellishment and rehabilitation of historical and cultural relics and intangible heritages; enhance the promotion of tourism potential and strengths of the two sides; actively exchange experiences and information on policies and management in the tourism sector.

The two sides agreed to create conditions to enhance mutual understanding between citizens of the two countries through people's organizations and social organizations of Vietnam and Belarus; continue to further promote friendly exchanges between the people of the two countries, including signing new documents to establish sister-country relations between localities of the two countries, establish and increase the frequency of direct flights, and increase the content of cooperation between people's friendship organizations... The two sides acknowledged that the Visa Exemption Agreement for Ordinary Passport Holders signed in 2023 will contribute to significantly promoting cooperation on the people-to-people channel in the coming time.

COOPERATION AT MULTILATERAL FORUMS

The two sides are willing to strengthen exchanges of views, expand and deepen cooperation, closely coordinate common positions and consider supporting each other at international organizations and regional and multilateral forums, first of all the United Nations, EAEU, BRICS, ASEAN, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Non-Aligned Movement and other organizations and groups of countries. The two sides will strengthen consultations, coordinate approaches to regional and international issues, and support effective international responses to traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including pandemics, climate change, terrorism, transnational crimes, cybercrime, food security, energy and water resources, as well as issues of common concern.

The two sides emphasized the universality and integrity of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), which is the legal basis for all activities at sea and in the oceans, and affirmed the need to maintain the integrity of the Convention and international legal instruments adopted to develop the provisions of the Convention.

It is of fundamental importance that the provisions of this universal international Convention be applied consistently so as not to prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of States Parties to this Convention, including land-locked States, and not to threaten the integrity of the legal regime provided for in UNCLOS 1982, including the exercise of freedom of navigation.

The two sides also emphasized the important role of UNCLOS 1982 in strengthening peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all countries 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 purposes and principles of the United Nations as stated in the United Nations Charter.

The two sides will coordinate to ensure security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded commercial activities. The two sides support self-restraint, non-use of force or threat to use force, and settlement of disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of international law, including the United Nations Charter and the 1982 UNCLOS. The two sides support the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and welcome efforts to soon reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY IN BELARUS

The two sides will actively support and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Belarus to help the community 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 branches to develop as soon as possible a Plan (Roadmap) for developing cooperation between Vietnam and Belarus to achieve the goals stated in the Joint Statement.

Done in Minsk on May 12, 2025 in two originals, each in the Vietnamese and Russian languages, both texts being equally authentic.

VNA

* Please visit the Politics section to see related news and articles.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/tuyen-bo-chung-ve-viec-thiet-lap-quan-he-doi-tac-chien-luoc-giua-viet-nam-va-belarus-252332.html