Đặng Minh Khôi, Ambassador of Việt Nam to Russia. — VNA/VNS Photo

Vietnamese ambassador to Russia Đặng Minh Khôi spoke to Vietnam News Agency ahead of the Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin’s visit to Việt Nam from September 28 to 29, which diplomats said is a great opportunity for comprehensive dialogues on bilateral and inter-parliamentary cooperation.

How have bilateral relations progressed in recent years, especially following Party General Secretary Tô Lâm’s state visit to Russia in May 2025?

General Secretary Tô Lâm’s official visit to Russia in May 2025 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War triumph was a success. The trip not only consolidated the long-standing traditional friendship but also created a breakthrough, bringing the Việt Nam–Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to a new phase of growth on the foundation of high political trust.

In particular, senior leaders of the two countries expressed a strong consensus in their determination to ‘reinvigorate’ bilateral relations and make cooperation increasingly practical and effective, in response to each country’s interests and development needs in the new era. This was also a return visit for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Việt Nam in June 2024.

With the implementation of the Joint Statement on major orientations for Việt Nam–Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the new period, and the cooperation agreements on diplomacy, defence, oil and gas, the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, science and technology, and education and training signed within the framework of the visits, it can be said that the Việt Nam–Russia ties are transforming with more momentum for comprehensive cooperation. In addition, their political relations are becoming more reliable and cooperation in all aspects is more dynamic and effective. This is especially true in trade-economic relations, where both sides found new impetus for traditional areas of cooperation while also expanding collaboration in new, highly potential fields such as science-technology and health care.

High-level dialogues and exchanges between the two countries continue to be maintained regularly, further strengthening political trust – a key factor for Việt Nam and Russia to enhance their strategic cooperation.

State President Lương Cường and Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính had held bilateral meetings with Russian President Putin on the sidelines of the 80th anniversary of the world’s victory over fascism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China, respectively.

Now, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Volodin visits Việt Nam. The two countries cherish the historical values associated with their important anniversaries in 2025, and demonstrate this with specific actions.

Following the Party chief’s visit, a high-ranking Russian representative – Vladimir Yakushev, Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia Party and First Vice Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly – attended Việt Nam’s 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day. For the first time, Russia sent a contingent of its military personnel to participate in Việt Nam’s National Day parade on this occasion.

It can be said that there has been clear progress in cooperation between the two countries recently, following the Party General Secretary’s visit, in areas such as energy, health care, culture, tourism and construction.

Notably, a Việt Nam Culture Festival was held for the first time at Moscow’s Red Square (July 25 - August 3), attracting nearly one million visitors. The participation and victory of Việt Nam’s representative Đức Phúc at the Intervision International Music Contest hosted by Russia on September 20 also brought a breath of fresh air to Việt Nam–Russia cooperation, strengthening the connection between the two countries and their peoples, creating a favourable premise to boost cooperation in other fields, and contributing to “reinvigorating” their ties.

What is the significance and key activities of the visit by Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and what are the highlights in bilateral relations?

At the invitation of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin will pay an official visit to Việt Nam and attend the fourth session of the Việt Nam–Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee from September 28 to 29, 2025. This is Volodin’s third visit to Việt Nam in his capacity as the State Duma Chairman.

This visit is made within the cooperation framework between the Vietnamese NA and the Russian Parliament, taking place in the year when the two countries commemorate many important events of each country and of the Việt Nam–Russia relations, such as the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Việt Nam–Russia diplomatic relations, the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War triumph, and the 80th anniversary of Việt Nam’s National Day.

The visit has great significance.

First, the trip shows that the two countries value their traditional friendship and are determined to consolidate and deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It is an important event of Việt Nam–Russia ties in 2025, commemorating the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, following the activities of senior leaders of both sides since the beginning of the year. These include the official visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to Việt Nam in January 2025 and the trip made by Party General Secretary Tô Lâm to Russia in May of the same year. They are an affirmation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation, continuing their traditional friendship and cooperation that has been built and nurtured over the past 75 years while entering a new era with a new spirit and increasingly high political trust.

Second, this visit aims to accelerate the implementation of major orientations to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which were discussed and agreed upon by the senior leaders of the two countries during the state visit of President Vladimir Putin to Việt Nam (June 2024) and the official visit of Party General Secretary Tô Lâm to Russia (May 2025).

The two countries’ top legislative bodies play an important role in designing a legal framework for bilateral cooperation, as well as supervising the deployment of high-level agreements.

Third, this visit reflects the increasing importance of the NA in promoting bilateral cooperation as well as parliamentary cooperation in the world.

Fourth, the trip contributes to strengthening cooperation between the Russian State Duma, the Russian Federal Assembly, and the Vietnamese NA – one of the important aspects of political cooperation in their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It also strengthens exchanges, dialogues and coordination between specialised committees and friendship parliamentary groups of the two countries, as well as their collaboration at international and regional inter-parliamentary forums.

This presents an opportunity for high-level, comprehensive discussions on bilateral cooperation, from economics, trade, energy, oil and gas, science and technology, to education, culture, defence, security, people-to-people exchanges and inter-parliamentary cooperation. They can also promote key projects, remove current bottlenecks and identify future directions for cooperation.

Within the framework of the visit, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn will co-chair the fourth session of the Việt Nam–Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. This is the first and highest inter-parliamentary cooperation mechanism between the Vietnamese NA and a foreign legislative body.

At this meeting, the two sides will share experiences in legislative activities, enforce the supervisory role of their parliaments in bilateral cooperation, and discuss guiding solutions for their respective governments to address the current bottlenecks in bilateral ties. Key topics include identifying new momentum and effectively exploring potential areas such as science-technology, education and training to achieve the goal of “reinvigorating relations” and elevating their cooperation to a new height.

This is the fourth session of the committee, and the two sides have had experience in coordination. I believe the meeting will be very successful.

What is the role of the cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the Russian State Duma in addressing bottlenecks and boosting progress of the Việt Nam–Russia ties?

As legislative bodies, the cooperation, coordination and exchange of experiences between the Vietnamese NA and the Russian State Duma, through their Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee as well as other specialised committees, are important in supervising the implementation of agreements made between the two countries’ top leaders. This creates a favourable business environment and strengthens trade-economic cooperation as well as investment for businesses and people of both sides, while also developing a timely and comprehensive legal framework for effective bilateral activities.

In addition to the inter-governmental committees, the inter-parliamentary cooperation committee is one of the important mechanisms in promoting bilateral cooperation. Multiple issues were addressed in the third session in September 2024, which had the participation of government representatives from both countries.

If this mechanism continues to be maintained effectively, cooperation through the parliamentary channel will continue to play an active role in removing obstacles and promoting key energy cooperation projects.

Specialised parliamentary committees of the two countries can also expand cooperation in science and technology, education and training – areas of strengths and potential for Russia, and towards which Việt Nam has a strong demand in order to respond to its development goals in the new era.

Additionally, I believe more attention should be paid to promoting labour cooperation and citizen travel between the two countries. — VNS