Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and acting Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov

The Vietnamese Government leader met with acting Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov, during which he expressed his joy to witness with his own eyes great achievements of the socio-economic development of the city.

He said the relations between”the northern capital city” of Russia with localities of Vietnam have been increasingly expanded and the exchange of all-level delegation maintained regularly.

PM Phuc affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always supports localities of the two countries to strengthen cooperation across fields.

He praised their coordination in organising meaningful activities in the framework of the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam, contributing to tightening the friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

The Vietnamese leader thanked the Saint Petersburg authorities for their facilitation for Vietnamese communities living and working in the city.

For his part, Beglov affirmed that the municipal authorities cherish the traditional relationship between the two nations.

They will host many activities, especially the Vietnam-Russia Youth Forum and the Day of Ho Chi Minh City in Saint Petersburg, he said.

Earlier, PM Phuc and the Vietnamese delegation laid a wreath at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery which is dedicated to victims of the Siege of Leningrad and soldiers of the Leningrad Front.

PM Phuc and his entourage came to visit Russia’s historic cruiser Aurora, touted as a revolution icon since it fired a shot to beckon the last attack at the Winter Palace in Petrograd on November 11, 1917.

The leader and his entourage also went on a tour of the Winter Palace, part of the Hermitage Museum, which displays some 3 million art works.

The same day’s afternoon, PM Phuc left Saint Petersburg for Moscow, continuing his activities in his official visit to Russia. -VNA