Vietnam PM receives Russian foreign minister

Receiving the Russian minister at the government’s office on Wednesday, Chinh said he wished to make the bilateral cooperation “deeper and more effective” in all fields.

He said Lavrov’s visit came as the two nations mark the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership and Vietnam always highly evaluates that partnership, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, July 6, 2022. Photo by Vietnam News Agency

PM Chinh proposed that related ministries and departments of the two countries should soon remove barriers in the fields of trade, investment and transport, and continue to make efforts to take full advantage of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a free trade agreement that came into being in 2015 to increase economic cooperation and raise the standard of living of its members.

He also called for an early restoration of cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges in the context that Covid-19 is now under control.

Lavrov said Russia always considers Vietnam as an important partner in the region and wishes to reinforce the bilateral cooperation.

He highly evaluates Vietnam’s stand, role, and contributions in ensuring peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

He concurred with Vietnam’s views to handle disputes in the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea, with peaceful measures based on international laws such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and hoped that a Code of Conduct in the sea will soon be achieved.

Prior to the meeting with Chinh, Lavrov had met with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

Son affirmed that Vietnam is “steadfast in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification, continuing to affirm Vietnam’s consistent stance on international and regional issues, including the Ukraine issue.”

He also wished that Russian Foreign Ministry and relevant units will continue to support the Vietnamese community in Russia.

Lavrov paid a two-day visit to Vietnam from Tuesday at the invitation of Son.

Vietnam and the then Soviet Union established diplomatic relations in 1950.

Russia, the latter’s successor state, and Vietnam elevated it into a strategic partnership in 2001 and into a comprehensive strategic partnership 11 years later.