Party General Secretary Tô Lâm welcomes Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of Russia, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam and co-chairing the 4th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Russian State Duma. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary Tô Lâm has reaffirmed that Việt Nam is committed to advancing its traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia, reflecting the two countries’ respective places in each other’s foreign policy and their close and longstanding ties.

He made the remarks on Monday while welcoming Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma of Russia, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam with a high-ranking Russian delegation and is co-chairing the 4th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Russian State Duma.

Lâm said that the visit would provide fresh momentum for strengthening political trust and lay a solid foundation for the robust, sustainable development of Việt Nam–Russia relations in a new phase of cooperation. Volodin's visit also vividly demonstrates the determination of both sides to further deepen their traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he noted.

The Party leader stated that Việt Nam wishes to see Russia develop in a stable and prosperous manner, with improved social welfare and better living standards for its people.

He expressed his hope that Russia would continue playing an important role in global and Asia–Pacific cooperation mechanisms, contributing to peace, security and development, and supporting the building of an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional order in line with international law.

He called on Russia to support the stance of Việt Nam and ASEAN in safeguarding peace, stability and order in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) based on international law, the UN Charter and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As for bilateral ties, Lâm reaffirmed that Việt Nam seeks to comprehensively develop its traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia in a manner that reflects the trust and strong historical bonds shared by their leaders and peoples.

The Party chief said that Việt Nam is determined to mobilise all of its resources to advance national development and lead the country into a new era of prosperity, expressing hope that Việt Nam’s trusted partners and friends would accompany the nation on this journey.

Positive recent results of inter-parliamentary cooperation were highlighted, with Lâm describing the achievements as an important channel for effective collaboration between the two governments and relevant ministries, while helping remove legal barriers to accelerate the implementation of bilateral projects.

He urged the Russian State Duma to continue close coordination with the Vietnamese National Assembly in strengthening parliamentary cooperation and thanked the Duma for swiftly ratifying recently signed cooperation agreements.

For his part, Volodin spoke highly of Lâm’s role and contributions to the development of Việt Nam–Russia relations, underscoring the significance of his visit in the current stage of cooperation.

The Duma chairman confirmed that both he personally and Russian leadership attach great importance to the Communist Party of Việt Nam’s leadership in safeguarding, building and developing the nation.

He noted that the visiting delegation included representatives from all political parties in the State Duma, each with different platforms and positions, but united in their strong support for comprehensive cooperation with Việt Nam in all areas, viewing Việt Nam as a loyal and reliable partner of Russia and pledging to make their most active contributions to bilateral ties.

Volodin briefed the Party General Secretary on key outcomes of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee’s meeting, sharing the Duma’s assessments on prospects for bilateral cooperation.

He pledged to help create a favourable legal framework to further boost the efficiency and substance of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in such fields as economy and trade, investment, oil and gas energy, nuclear power, science and technology, and education and training.

Both sides noted encouraging results in bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, oil and gas, defence and security, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. They highlighted the fact that bilateral trade has been growing at over 20 per cent annually, and the number of Russian tourists to Việt Nam doubled year-on-year.

They also reaffirmed their tradition of cooperation in education and training, science, technology and engineering as well as healthcare, and voiced determination to elevate cooperation in these areas with joint projects that maximise the two countries’ potential and meet their development needs. — VNS