President Vladimir Putin said he would direct the Russian Government to urgently implement next steps and soon launch the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power project, aiming to make it a new symbol of the friendship between Vietnam and the Russian Federation in a new era.

On March 25, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin affirmed that Vietnam has always been a sincere friend and an important partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region, and stressed the importance of continuing to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

He noted that the visit by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh - the first key Vietnamese leader to visit Russia after the 14th National Party Congress - holds significant importance in maintaining and promoting bilateral cooperation.

At the same time, President Putin expressed his appreciation for the Prime Minister’s contributions and sentiments toward bilateral relations, describing him as a close friend of Russia and a trusted comrade.

Russia is ready to strongly promote cooperation with Vietnam across all fields, while seeking to expand into new areas aligned with Vietnam’s development needs. These include new energy, green transition, digital transformation, healthcare, and high-quality human resource training.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam consistently values its traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. Vietnam hopes to further deepen bilateral relations, build on established strengths, and effectively tap into each country’s potential and advantages to promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

He emphasized that President Vladimir Putin is a great friend who has made significant contributions to the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia, helping strengthen and expand ties between the two nations.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum in bilateral relations, particularly the outcomes of General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Russia in May 2025 and the subsequent phone call between the two leaders following the 14th Party Congress. These engagements have helped shape strategic directions and inject new momentum into bilateral cooperation.

The two leaders exchanged views on their respective socio-economic development situations, orientations, and strategies.

In recent years, thanks to the efforts of both governments, ministries, sectors, and localities, cooperation between Vietnam and Russia has developed strongly across multiple fields.

Considering visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vladimir Putin held in-depth discussions on each country’s needs and potential, identifying key areas and major directions for future cooperation. Both sides reaffirmed that deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership remains a long-term strategic priority.

They agreed on the need to strengthen political trust and maintain the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade, and scientific-technical cooperation, while also exploring the establishment of new mechanisms.

Both sides committed to promoting economic, trade, and investment cooperation, facilitating favorable conditions for businesses to operate and invest in each other’s markets, enhancing business connectivity, diversifying markets and supply chains, and addressing barriers related to institutions, payments, and transport. The goal is to increase bilateral trade turnover in a balanced and sustainable manner.

The two countries identified energy, oil and gas, science and technology, innovation, and infrastructure development as key areas of cooperation aligned with their development needs.

Appreciating the efforts of both sides, including their governments, in concluding negotiations and signing the agreement on building the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant in Vietnam in line with safety, efficiency, and international standards, President Putin affirmed that this is an important direction of cooperation that will contribute to energy security and sustainable development.

He reiterated that Russia would move swiftly to implement the next steps and launch the project soon, turning it into a new symbol of Vietnam-Russia friendship in the new era.

Both sides supported increased cooperation among energy and oil and gas enterprises of the two countries, encouraging expanded investment and operations in each other’s territories in accordance with international law.

They also agreed on the need to enhance cooperation in military technology, security, and science and technology. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh praised Russia’s strong foundation in basic science and its advanced technologies, noting that Russia is among the world’s leading countries in these fields.

He proposed that, building on the experience of cooperation at the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center, both sides should further strengthen collaboration in basic science, new and high technologies, biomedicine, and aerospace.

The two sides agreed to boost people-to-people exchanges and create more favorable travel conditions for citizens of both countries, thereby promoting tourism and increasing the number of Russian visitors to Vietnam and Vietnamese visitors to Russia.

President Putin assigned the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens. Both sides also agreed to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students to raise the number of Vietnamese studying in Russia.

On behalf of the Party and State leadership of Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh extended an invitation to President Vladimir Putin to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time. President Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure.

The two leaders also shared views on regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to continue close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and ASEAN, contributing to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and globally.

Later the same evening, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the high-level Vietnamese delegation departed Moscow for home, successfully concluding the working visit.

Tran Thuong