Hanoi (VNA) 🌱- Party General Secretary To Lam, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation concluded their successful trip to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Belarus from May 5-12.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son talked to the press about the trip’ outcomes.

Enhancing political trust with longstanding friends

Reporter: Could you share the significance of the State visits to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, and the official visit to Russia by Party General Secretary To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation?

Deputy PM and FM Bui Thanh Son:൩ At the invitation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Party General Secretary To Lam, accompanied by his spouse and a high-ranking delegation, undertook a highly successful mission to the aforementioned countries, achieving positive outcomes.

Beyond opening a new chapter of cooperation with traditional friends from the former Soviet Union, the tour reinforced and redefined Vietnam’s relationships with these countries, based on the long-standing friendship nurtured by generations of leaders and people of Vietnam and the respective nations. The visits also served as special occasions to convey a heartfelt message of unwavering loyalty from the Vietnamese Party, State, and people toward the countries that wholeheartedly supported Vietnam’s past struggles for national liberation and reunification, as well as its ongoing national development.

The high-ranking leaders and people of the host countries extended their sincere affection, warm hospitality, and respectful reception, marked by special courtesies, to Lam and his entourage. With over 80 activities in eight days, Lam held meetings with high-ranking leaders of the host nations, engaged with political parties, social groups, and businesses, visited several economic and cultural establishments, and met with the Vietnamese communities. He also attended a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Russia and the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Fascism in Kazakhstan. The trip reflects Vietnam’s profound respect and tribute to the immense sacrifices and losses of the former Soviet Union countries in their fight against fascism. This struggle ended the world war and opened a new chapter for global revolutionary and national liberation movements, including Vietnam's. Vietnamese officials who accompanied the Party chief and their hosts also held productive discussions to explore cooperation in various sectors. We can take great pride in the fact that leaders and representatives from all four countries praised Vietnam's remarkable achievements in various fields under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and General Secretary To Lam. They acknowledged the country’s bold reforms and transformative strides that are propelling Vietnam into a new era – that of the nation’s rise.

Reporter: What are the key outcomes of the tour?

Deputy PM and FM Bui Thanh Son❀: First, the Party chief’s tour has contributed to implementing Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation of external relations. The visits also demonstrate Vietnam’s proactive and active integration into international community, and being a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community.

Vietnam has upgraded its relations with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus to strategic partnerships, lifting the total number of strategic partners to 37. At the same time, it has further deepened the traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia, thus strengthening political trust and opening up new areas of cooperation on par with the scale and potential of the bilateral relations in the new era of development. Second, the Vietnamese Party leader and high-ranking leaders of the respective countries affirmed that they give top priority to the traditional friendship with Vietnam. This spirit served as a 'lodestar' running throughout the meetings between General Secretary Lam and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Third, the important meetings between Lam and high-ranking leaders of the four countries produced positive outcomes. They helped shape the future of bilateral relations and generated new momentum, not only within traditional cooperation frameworks, but also in new and potential areas, commensurate with the newly elevated relationships. The leaders of Vietnam and the four countries agreed to strengthen political trust through increasing delegation exchanges and engagements at all levels, especially at high level and all cooperation channels. Regarding economic, trade, and investment cooperation, they emphasised the importance of the intergovernmental committee mechanism and encouraged efforts to improve its effectiveness. These are concrete measures to realise commitments and signed agreements, towards boosting bilateral trade between Vietnam and the countries to levels that reflect their good political relations. They also consented to significantly improve the business environment to encourage long-term investment and operations in each other’s market. In the energy and mining sectors, the leaders agreed to promote cooperation in oil and gas exploration and service provision, while jointly considering appropriate solutions to further boost energy cooperation, especially clean and renewables. A range of concrete solutions were also proposed to step up substantive cooperation in terms of defence - security, science - technology, digital transformation, education - training, hi-tech agriculture, transport, logistics, culture, sports, tourism, labour, people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation between localities. Fourth, on multilateral cooperation, Vietnam will closely cooperate with the countries at regional and international organisations, particularly in the United Nations and other key institutions. The Party chief and leaders of the four countries reaffirmed the importance of maintaining a peaceful, secure, and stable environment in each region, and emphasised the need to resolve disputes through peaceful measures based on the UN Charter and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS). During the Vietnamese Party chief’s trip, around 60 cooperation agreements were inked between ministries, sectors, and businesses of Vietnam and Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Belarus, covering areas of diplomacy, defence - security, science - technology, energy, education - training, and aviation. These documents provide an important legal framework to deepen relations between Vietnam and these countries, making them more practical and effective. On the occasion of attending Russia’s 80th anniversary of Great Patriotic War triumph, Lam held meetings with leaders of many countries to discuss priorities in advancing bilateral relations. Foreign leaders extended their congratulations to Vietnam on the successful organisation of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification, as well as its development accomplishments in all aspects.

Turning agreements into reality

Reporter: During the visits, Party General Secretary To Lam and high-ranking leaders of the host countries achieved important results across various fields, laying a solid foundation to elevate Vietnam’s bilateral relations to a new height. What specific measures will Vietnam take to realise the outcomes of this mission?

Deputy PM and FM Bui Thanh Son: The trip yielded comprehensive, remarkable, and concrete achievements with long-term significance. These outcomes create a solid foundation, strong momentum, and clear orientation for Vietnam and its partners to realise shared goals in line with the elevated level of relations. To effectively implement the key outcomes achieved from these visits, Vietnam and its partners will coordinate across various levels in the time ahead. These efforts will be guided by the spirit of joint statements, cooperation agreements, and shared perceptions reached by senior leaders, focusing on the following key aspects. First, there will be regular exchanges of all-level delegations and contacts across all channels, including stronger cooperation among political parties and enhanced engagement between the governments and parliaments of Vietnam and its partners. The role of intergovernmental committees between Vietnam and respective countries will be promoted. These efforts will help Vietnam and its partner nations sustain the momentum of bilateral relations, continue to reinforce and enhance political trust, and deepen the long-standing traditional friendship.

Second, the effective implementation of cooperation mechanisms will be prioritised to elevate the substance and scope of collaboration in all sectors. Building on the joint statements and the common perceptions between leaders, Vietnam and its partners will identify practical solutions to enhance cooperation, including improving the performance of bilateral cooperation mechanisms and jointly proposing measures to resolve existing challenges. In terms of economic, trade, and investment ties, Vietnam will collaborate closely with its partners both bilaterally – through intergovernmental committees – and multilaterally – such as via the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The aim is to improve the business climate and facilitate long-term investment and business. Joint efforts will also be made to diversify import and export portfolios, and to develop multimodal transport and logistics connectivity, thereby promoting trade to make it commensurate with each side’s potential and strengths. Relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and enterprises of both Vietnam and its partners will continue to explore opportunities to expand existing cooperation projects in traditional areas such as energy, oil and gas, industry, agriculture, transport, and rail and air connectivity. At the same time, new projects will be developed in emerging fields such as clean and renewable energy, science and technology, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence. Third, people-to-people exchanges will be strengthened through cultural activities, academic research, education and training, and tourism, to reinforce the solid humanistic foundation of Vietnam’s relationship with its partners. The Party and State of Vietnam will continue to care for the well-being of Vietnamese communities abroad, while creating favourable conditions for foreign nationals to study, work, and travel in Vietnam. This will help future generations understand and continue to serve as a bridge, nurturing the long-standing and traditional friendship between Vietnam and other countries. Fourth, Vietnam and its partners will maintain coordination and mutual support in multilateral mechanisms and forums, particularly the United Nations. With a foundation of traditional friendship and high mutual trust, Vietnam will proactively engage with its partner countries on regional and international issues of shared concern, thereby contributing to peace, stability and cooperation in the region and world. The country also wants to serve as a bridge to help strengthen the ties between its partners and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while hoping that its partners will support Vietnam in expanding cooperation and connectivity with other regions. In summary, the state visits to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, as well as the official visit to Russia and attendance at the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War by Party General Secretary Lam, his spouse, and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, were successful. They were closely followed and praised by regional and international communities, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's international position and prestige. The results achieved during the visits will be an important foundation and inspiration for Vietnam and these countries to continue to inherit, promote and enhance the traditional friendship. The multilateral outcomes will contribute to the development of each nation, for the benefit of their people, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Reporter: Thank you very much!