Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Đặng Minh Khôi (second from right) and Evgeny Grigoriev, Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of Saint Petersburg city (second from left) at their meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

MOSCOW — Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Đặng Minh Khôi received Evgeny Grigoriev, Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of Saint Petersburg City, at the embassy’s headquarters in Moscow on Tuesday on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

Grigoriev conveyed New Year greetings from Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov to Khoi and, through the ambassador, the people of Việt Nam.

Welcoming the official on the first day of the Year of the Horse, Khôi described the visit and greetings from a representative of the Saint Petersburg administration as a clear demonstration of Việt Nam’s traditional and close-knit friendship with Russia in general and Saint Petersburg in particular.

Both host and guest shared the view that the Việt Nam – Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is growing dynamically, especially following the important directions set at the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and the phone talks between the two countries’ leaders in early 2026.

Khôi perceived that the outcomes of the 14th National Party Congress, including the target of double-digit economic growth, will serve as a new impetus for bilateral relations to develop further.

Russia boasts strengths in technology and experience in building important strategic infrastructure that Việt Nam is interested in, he emphasised, considering this as great potential for bilateral ties in the time ahead.

With regard to locality-to-locality cooperation, Grigoriev stressed the leading role of the relationship between Saint Petersburg and HCM City.

The two sides highly valued the cultural and economic exchanges carried out so far, particularly the maintenance and promotion of the value of the President Hồ Chí Minh monument in Saint Petersburg – an eternal symbol of the sister cities’ friendship. 

At the meeting, Khôi and Grigoriev also discussed some activities for enhancing bilateral cooperation, including partnerships between Saint Petersburg and HCM City, such as arranging more business delegations to explore each other’s markets and strengthening economic and trade links, cultural and educational ties, and people-to-people exchanges.

The Saint Petersburg official affirmed that his city will remain a trustworthy partner ready to assist Vietnamese localities in implementing concrete and substantive cooperation projects in 2026. — VNA/VNS