Party leader welcomes Russia foreign minister

Vietnam attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong while meeting Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in Hanoi Wednesday.

The visit of the top Russian diplomat takes place as the two countries marked the 10th anniversary of establishing their comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.

The Party leader said Vietnam always respects and remembers great and effective assistance from international friends, including Russia, during its struggles and national development through different periods.

He shared Vietnam's viewpoint about international issues of common concern in line with its consistent foreign policy, including dialogues and negotiations for peaceful settlement of international differences and disputes.

Trong said he wished the visit to Vietnam by the Russian foreign minister would be a success, contributing to boosting bilateral ties and promoting peace, stability and cooperation in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the world.

Minister Lavrov expressed his delight to visit Vietnam and spoke highly of the political position and leadership role of the Vietnamese Communist Party in the national development cause and the country's foreign policy.

He noted that the development of the relations between the Vietnamese Party and the United Russia Party and major political parties in Russia shows that the foreign policy of the Vietnamese Party and the relations between the Party and State of Vietnam with Russia are widely supported across Russia.

Lavrov informed the Party leader of the results of talks held earlier the same day with the Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son and meetings held during his visit to Vietnam about bilateral cooperation in many fields, affirming that Russia attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership.

He said that Russia supported the central role of ASEAN in the region and thanked Vietnam for contributing to enhancing the relations between Russia and ASEAN over the past years.

Vietnam and Russia set up diplomatic ties in 1950, elevated to a "strategic partnership" in 2001, and then a "comprehensive strategic partnership" 11 years later.

Despite the pandemic fallout, bilateral trade reached nearly $4.85 billion in 2020, and the figure rose to $7.1 billion in 2021. Russia has 151 direct investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than $950 million.

During his official visit to Russia from November 29 to December 2, 2021, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement on the Vision of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership until 2030, aiming to orient cooperation between the two countries in all fields.