Moscow (VNA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has written anarticle looking back at the friendship between Russia and Vietnam on theoccasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the twocountries’ diplomatic relationship (January 30, 1950-2020).

TheFM recalled that the Soviet Union was among the first countries to recognizethe Vietnamese State, laying the foundation for the friendship and closecooperation between the two countries in the following decades, which havestood the test of time and been constantly consolidated and promoted.

Thetraditional solidarity and mutual support between Russia and Vietnam continueto be maintained in the new phase of history based on the bilateral treaty onprinciples for Russia-Vietnam friendship signed in 1994, according to Lavrov.He went on to say that the two countries lifted their ties to a strategicpartnership in 2001 and a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012.

Thetwo countries have maintained open and trustful political dialogue in variousforms, the Russian FM noted, citing as examples the visit in September 2018 by GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, the visits inNovember and December the same year by Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedevand Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin. Last year, Vietnam’s PMNguyen Xuan Phuc also visited Russia in May and Chairman of the VietnameseNational Assembly visited Russia in December. Such close links are an importantfactor behind the development of Russia-Vietnam relations, facilitating thesettlement of issues in bilateral and international agenda, Lavrov said.

Heexpressed satisfaction at the dynamic progress of bilateral economic ties inboth traditional areas and new potential ones. Bilateral trade turnover hasincreased, reaching 6.1 billion USD in 2018, a record for the post-Soviet Unionperiod.

Oneof the pillars of Russia-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership is energycooperation, with the joint venture Vietsovpetro being the flagship.

Collaborationin innovation also expanded, the FM said, pointing to the project to build anuclear science and technology centre in Vietnam with support from Russia’sRosatom group and the 30-year-old Russia-Vietnam tropical centre as typical examples.

Furthermore,for the first time in the history of bilateral ties, the Russia-Vietnam andVietnam-Russia Years are being held in 2019 and 2020 under agreements reachedat the highest level. The years feature more than 100 events in a wide range ofareas, from trade, economics, science-technology to military and inter-regionalcooperation.

FMLavrov highlighted the traditional cooperation in education, with Vietnam amongthe countries having the most students in Russia. In 2020, the RussianGovernment grants 965 State scholarships to Vietnam, one of the largest numbersof scholarships to another country.

Intourism, Vietnam has emerged as an attractive destination for Russiannationals. The number of Vietnamese travelling to Russia for vacations is also onthe rise. Meanwhile, youth exchange has been expanding, with three youth forumsjointly held during the past one and a half year by the youth unions of the twocountries.

TheRussian FM also underlined the effective interaction between the two countriesin the international arena, as demonstrated in the remarkable similarity intheir viewpoints on urgent issues on regional and international agenda. The twocountries have firm commitments to a fairer and more democratic multi-polarworld based on international law, first of all the fundamental clauses of the Charterof the United Nations.

Accordingto Lavrov, Vietnam’s non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council in the2020-2021 tenure and Chair of ASEAN in 2020 provide an opportunity for the twocountries to enhance their coordination in external policies.

Inconclusion, the Russian FM stressed that Russia and Vietnam have accumulatedmany experiences on cooperation in various fields during the past 70 years,which he said should be utilized effectively to further promote the bilateral relationship.

Theimportant thing is that the friendship between the two nations and their mutualsincere sympathy has been preserved through many decades unaffected by changesin the world situation, he said, urging the two countries to maintain theunique heritage and pass it on to younger generations./.