Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son is in Russia on an official visit from 1 to 4 April, during which he held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The visit aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s website reports that Lavrov stated, “Together with our Vietnamese friends, we are actively working to implement the agreements reached in June 2024 during President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Vietnam.”
Lavrov also announced that Tho Lam, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party’s Central Committee, has been invited to Russia for the May 9 celebrations.
Vietnamese Foreign Minister affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to bilateral cooperation, stating, “The purpose of my visit is to reaffirm our countries’ commitment to bilateral cooperation, as well as to prepare for the arrival of Central Committee General Secretary Tho Lam.”
Petr Chuvakhin, an associate professor at the Department of Legal Regulation of the Fuel and Energy Complex at the MGIMO University, told TV BRICS that the Vietnamese minister’s visit is of particular importance.
Chuvakhin highlighted potential agreements in several key areas, including increased access for Russian companies to the Vietnamese market, settlements in national currencies, and the development of a legal framework for Vietnam’s inclusion in the energy supply system and subsequent transit to third countries in the region.
According to Chuvakhin, the talks may consider various agreements such as a memorandum of understanding to expand energy cooperation, a protocol on joint investment projects, a technical agreement on the development of logistics infrastructure, and an agreement on the establishment of an interdepartmental commission to harmonise legislation in the energy sector.
In related news, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong recently held talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Hanoi. During that meeting, da Silva invited Cuong to attend the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro and the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Belem, both scheduled to be held in Brazil this year.
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