An overview of the meeting between Lê Thị Thu Hằng, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vladimir Vasilevic Potemkin, Deputy Governor of Kaluga region, Russia, in Hà Nội on Wednesday. Photo of MOFA

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Thị Thu Hằng on Wednesday affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches great importance to the friendship, traditional relations, as well as the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia.

Hosting Deputy Governor of Russia's Kaluga region V.V. Potemkin in Hà Nội, Hằng said Việt Nam hopes to maintain and strengthen cooperation with Russia in various fields, viewing Russia as a loyal and trustworthy friend.

She hailed the results of cooperation between localities of the two countries, emphasising that the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports the enhancement of collaboration between Vietnamese localities and agencies and Kaluga, as well as that between Vietnamese enterprises and Russian businesses in general and those from Kaluga in particular, in the areas where the region has strengths such as high-tech agriculture, science, nuclear energy, aerospace, and education.

Hằng thanked Kaluga authorities for facilitating the operation of Vietnamese enterprises in the region. She also affirmed Việt Nam's readiness to create conditions for Kaluga businesses to invest and operate in the country.

For his part, Potemkin praised the long-standing friendship between Việt Nam and Russia, expressing the desire that the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue supporting potential projects and initiatives to promote the relations between the two countries, as well as between Việt Nam and Kaluga.

He said many Vietnamese students are among the most outstanding graduates in the nuclear science field in Kaluga, which is a pride in the educational cooperation between Việt Nam and Russia.

Highlighting 2025 as a very important year for both countries with major anniversaries, host and guest agreed to closely coordinate to organise celebrations. — VNS