Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s attendance at the expanded BRICS (BRICS+) Summit in Kazan city of the Russian Federation from October 23-24 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chair of the BRICS Group in 2024, is expected to strengthen relations between Vietnam and members of the bloc, especially the host Russia.

Vietnam - BRICS cooperation prospects

The trip will be a high-level foreign activity of great significance, affirming Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, proactive and active international integration, being a friend, a trustworthy partner, and a responsible member of the international community.

PM Chinh's first attendance at the BRICS+ Summit is expected to open up new prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and the bloc, offering the country an opportunity to promote extensive cooperation with BRICS member countries and partners, while allowing its access to BRICS' mechanisms, abundant resources, and large-scale markets to serve the country's development goals.

In 2024, Vietnam was invited and participated in many BRICS+ activities at different levels, both through the Party and State channels.

Vietnam has had close relations with all BRICS member countries, including a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China since 2008, a comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia since 2012, and a comprehensive strategic partnership with India since 2016.

Vietnam's participation at the BRICS+ Summit will send out the country’s message of supporting the role of multilateral cooperation forums and mechanisms which operate on the basis of respect for the UN Charter and in accordance with international law, promoting the voice and representation of developing countries in global governance as well as in solving common challenges, contributing to building a multipolar and equitable world order, and to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

On this occasion, PM Chinh will hold meetings and working sessions with leaders of countries and international organisations to discuss measures to strengthen relations across areas of shared concern and to review the implementation of agreements, making cooperation between Vietnam and other countries and international organisations deeper, more effective, and more practical, contributing to the development and stability of the region and the whole world.

BRIC was established in 2006 at the foreign ministerial level, initially consisting four countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China - and upgraded to a summit level in 2009. BRIC cooperation is based on three pillars, namely politics-security, economy-finance, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Over the past 20 years, BRIC has made strong progress. In 2010, South Africa was officially admitted to the bloc which became BRICS. On January 1, 2024, it added five more members of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. BRICS currently comprises of two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, six members of the G20, and many members are middle-ranking countries.

BRICS also groups many dynamic emerging economies and developing economies. To date, it contributes about 37% of global GDP, making up nearly 50% of the global population, 49% of wheat production, 43% of global oil production, and 25% of the world's merchandise exports.

Strengthening Vietnam - Russia ties

Along with opening up prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and BRICS and BRICS member countries, the Vietnamese Government leader’s attendance at the BRICS+ Summit in Russia also sends out a message om the special relationship between Vietnam and Russia, continuing and effectively promoting the decades-old traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation based on the foundation of trust, sustainable cooperation, and mutual respect.

Vietnam set up diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union (now Russia) on January 30, 1950, paving the way for the strong friendship and sound cooperation between the two countries. Over the past nearly 75 years, the bilateral relations has increasingly developed comprehensively, intensively and extensively.

The two countries signed the Treaty on Principles of Vietnam-Russian Friendly Relations on June 16, 1994. They established a strategic partnership in 2001, and upgraded it to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012. In 2021, the two countries issued a Joint Statement on their joint vision of the comprehensive strategic partnership to 2030. Within the framework of that relationship, Vietnam-Russia cooperation has seen strong development in all fields.

Trade between the two countries hit 3.6 billion USD in 2023 and 2.74 billion USD in the first seven months of 2024.

Oil and gas, and energy cooperation has continued to be a traditional strategic cooperation area and one of the important pillars of Vietnam-Russia cooperation, while collaboration in education-training and science-technology has been maintained within the framework of the Committee for Educational, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. The two sides have actively implemented the Nuclear Science and Technology Centre project, while organising many educational-scientific exchange activities. The two sides have also continued to closely coordinate at international organisations and multilateral forums.

During his trip to Russia for attendance at the BRICS+ Summit, PM Chinh will have meetings with high-ranking leaders of Russia as well as Russian partners and major economic corporations, which will provide a chance for the two sides to speed up the realisation of the outcomes of visits and meetings of high-ranking leaders of the two countries.

Leaders of the two countries will seek major directions for bilateral cooperation in the coming time and specific measures to remove difficulties and obstacles facing bilateral collaboration in the fields of economy, trade, energy, oil and gas, science and technology, education, and culture, contributing to the intensive and extensive development of the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership towards the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations in early 2025, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi.

The ambassador said he believed that PM Chinh’s participation will effectively contribute to the activities at the summit, affirming to international friends the image of a proactive, active, responsible, sincere, and friendly Vietnam with contributions to the realisation of the common goal of peace, security, stability, and sustainable development in the region and the world at large./.