Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin's official visit to Việt Nam from January 14-15 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Phạm Minh Chính aims to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and prepare for important activities in bilateral relations in 2025, according to a Vietnamese diplomat.

In a recent interview granted to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Moscow, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Đặng Minh Khôi highlighted the significance of the visit, saying it demonstrates both countries' strong commitment to their traditional friendship, highlighting their determination to further intensify the comprehensive strategic partnership.

According to the diplomat, Russia has affirmed Việt Nam as a reliable partner and an important priority in its “Look East” policy, expressing a desire to deepen all-around cooperation with Việt Nam. In 2024, Việt Nam was one of the first countries that Russian President Vladimir Putin visited after officially taking office for his new term.

For its part, Việt Nam consistently regards Russia as one of top priorities in its foreign policy. PM Chính visited Russia to attend the expanded BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024, and National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn made an official visit to Russia in September 2024, Khôi said.

The two-day visit will mark the beginning of a series of high-level activities to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties between (January 30, 1950 – 2025). This is a significant milestone in the history of the Việt Nam-Russia relations.

It is expected to contribute to accelerating the implementation of major directions to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership, as discussed and agreed upon during Putin's state visit to Việt Nam in June last year, and the phone talks between Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and President Putin in August 2024.

The trip reaffirms the strong commitment of both sides to maintaining and advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership, making it more intensive, substantive, and effective. It will also provide an opportunity for Vietnamese and Russian leaders to discuss, and reach consensus on important issues, while outlining future strategic orientations, and clearly defining key areas of cooperation, spanning from economy, trade, energy, and science-technology, to education, culture, and defence-security, Khôi stressed.

The two sides will look into existing obstacles to bilateral cooperation and progress on key cooperative projects in energy, industry, and other fields. They will also map out solutions to expand cooperation in potential areas, creating momentum to further foster the bilateral relations.

The diplomat said over the past 75 years, the exchange of high-level delegations have played a crucial role, offering opportunities for the two sides to discuss strategic directions and long-term goals of their relationship, and to resolve existing challenges to the bilateral cooperation through the strong political commitment and decisive directions of high-ranking leaders during their visits.

He pointed out the immense potential and ample room for the relations to grow stronger and more intensively in the time ahead, adding that bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, the inter-governmental committees on economic, trade, and scientific-technical cooperation, as well as military and technical collaboration, and the Việt Nam-Russia Committee on Educational, Scientific and Technological Cooperation will play a significant role in driving this progress.

With the political will of leaders and the unwavering determination of the people of the two nations, 2025 will mark the beginning of a new phase in the comprehensive cooperation between Việt Nam and Russia, he stressed. — VNS