Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn held talks with Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia during the trip to the country. — VNA/VNS Photo Duy Trinh

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam, the only country that President Vladimir Putin has visited five times, is an important and close partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific, said Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia.

Kosachev made the statement during a meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn, who is on his official trip to the nation, on Monday.

At the function, both officials expressed their delight at developments in the Việt Nam-Russia relations across all sectors and channels, including the parliamentary channel.

Despite COVID-19, the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Russian Federation Council have sustained their ties via online exchanges, most recently, talks between National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ and Chairperson of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko. The sides have also worked closely at regional and international forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Kosachev aid the Russian upper house backed the boosting of the Việt Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in all spheres, as well as cooperation in accelerating the ratification and implementation of deals between the nations.

He appreciated Việt Nam’s aid of 50,000 face masks for the Federation Council when the pandemic broke out in early 2020 and Russia faced difficulties in producing the masks.

He vowed to do his best to speed up the supply of the Sputnik V vaccine for Việt Nam. The official also thanked Việt Nam for making the Russian language a subject in high schools from 2022, considering it a good premise for increasing the number of Vietnamese students in Russia in the future.

For his part, Sơn affirmed the bilateral parliamentary cooperation, particularly the friendship between parliamentarian groups that plays a significant role in deepening the countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership.

He said the Federal Council actively supported collaboration between Vietnamese and Russian localities, with relations established and expanded toward practical outcomes. Sơn asked the council to further such assistance and back the nations’ people-to-people exchange.

On the occasion, the diplomat proposed the council raise its voice so that Russia prioritises vaccine supply and technological transfer to Việt Nam and support Vietnamese expatriates in the country in the context of COVID-19.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn had talks with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Duy Trinh

Also on Monday, Sơn visited the military attaché agency of Việt Nam in Moscow and held a meeting with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

He appreciated the RDIF’s approval to transfer biological products to Việt Nam so that VABIOTECH could successfully produce first Sputnik V vaccine batch in Việt Nam.

RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said the organisation was committed to facilitate delivery of vaccines to Việt Nam, as well as aid Việt Nam’s production of the Sputnik V not just to meet domestic demands but also to export to other countries in the region.

Earlier, he laid flowers at the Hồ Chí Minh monument in Moscow, visited the monument of unknown martyrs, and met representatives of the Vietnamese community in Russia and staff of the Vietnam Embassy in Russia. — VNS