Hanoi (VNA) – Russia always attaches importance to its relations withVietnam which is one of its traditional and priority partners in theAsia-Pacific region, Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Bezdetko affirmed inhis article “Bright prospects for the Russia – Vietnam cooperative relationship”on the occasion of 31st Russia Day (June 12).

Russia looks towards boosting friendly relations with allcountries on the basis of mutual respect and consideration of each other'sinterests. One of Russia's traditional and preferred partners in theAsia-Pacific region is Vietnam, according to the ambassador.

He recalled the traditional friendship between the two sidessince the Soviet Union’s establishment of its diplomatic ties with Vietnam in1950. The Soviet Union helped the heroic Vietnamese people duringtheir years of struggle for independence and freedom as well as in thepeace-building period.

A tradition of friendship and cooperation for mutual benefithas been built by previous generations through difficult years and is currentlybeing promoted on the basis of bilateral relations. Twenty years ago, Russiaand Vietnam signed a Joint Statement on a strategic partnership, and since 2012the bilateral relationship has been upgraded to the comprehensive strategicpartnership.

The diplomat stressed that the bilateral cooperativerelationship is currently developing dynamically in a wide range of fields.Political dialogue is maintained regularly at all levels. Telephone talks havealso taken place between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Chairman ofthe Security Council of the Russian Federation Medvedev Dmitry and GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, and between RussianForeign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

Trade-economic cooperation has expanded continuously. Thanksto the active efforts of the parties in implementing the Free TradeAgreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam, signed on May 29,2015, trade revenue between the two countries has increased, with two-way tradein 2020 rising by 15 percent year-on-year to 5.7 billion USD.

The ambassador also said that Vietnam and Russia have also madeefforts to promote cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries' relevantministries, sectors and agencies have exchanged experience in the diagnosis,treatment and prevention of this pandemic. Negotiations are also underway onthe supply and construction of a Russian Sputnik V vaccine production facilityin Vietnam.

Russia is very grateful to its Vietnamese friends fordonating several batches of medical masks to Russia. For its part, Russia hastransferred to Vietnam a batch of Sputnik V vaccine, medicines, testing systemsand reagents for research, he added.

Russia highly appreciates the activities of the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Centre which is one of the most important scientific and technical cooperation projects of the two countries. On this basis, over the past 30 years, many unique studies have been conducted in the areas of environmental safety, biology and chemistry, as well as in epidemiology and medicine in tropical conditions.

Education and training remains a traditional area in bilateral cooperation. In the 2020-2021 school year, the Russian Government granted a quota of 965 for Vietnamese students who wish to study at leading Russian universities. In the next academic year, 1,000 Vietnamese students will be allowed to study in Russia. Despite the decrease in cultural exchange activities due to the pandemic, the two countries still organised a Russian film week in Hanoi and a Vietnamese film week in Moscow in 2020.

Within the framework of the recent visit to Vietnam by Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev, an inauguration ceremony of the monument of poet Alexander Pushkin was held in the capital city of Hanoi.

When life returns to normal after the pandemic, Russia and Vietnam could quickly restore the number of tourists moving between the two countries. Before the pandemic, Vietnam was one of the most popular destinations for Russian tourists. As many as 680,000 Russian citizens travelled to Vietnam for tourism in 2019. In addition, Vietnamese people's interest in tourist attractions in Russia is also increasing.

One of the most important cooperation directions between the two countries is coordination in the international arena. The two countries have similar stances on many international and regional issues, advocating the formation of a just and multipolar world order based on the standards of international law, respect for sovereignty and the interests of all parties. Russia and Vietnam have cooperated effectively at the United Nations Security Council. Vietnam was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term. The Russian Federation attaches great importance to the development of the ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Partnership.

The multifaceted cooperation between Russia and Vietnam benefits both countries and is continuously growing in accordance with the agreements at the highest and high levels in a spirit of comprehensive strategic partnership. The foundation of this relationship is the solid tradition of friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding without dependence on temporary political situations. This allows the two countries to be optimistic and look to the future, the ambassador affirmed.

The two countries and peoples are facing important tasks to promote bilateral relations in both established fields as well as new areas, for the stable development and prosperity of Russia and Vietnam, and for peace and stability in the region and the world, he said./.