By Anthony Marcus, correspondent for Eurasia Business News, June 20, 2024. Article n°1041.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Vietnam on a two-day visit at the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.
During the visit on June 20-21, Vladimir Putin should hold talks with the top leadership of Vietnam, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. Negotiations will be held with Nguyen Phu Trong himself, Vietnamese President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man. It is planned that following the talks, a joint statement will be adopted on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam, and a number of documents will be signed in various areas of cooperation. Following the meeting with the President of Vietnam, Putin and To Lam will make a statement to the press.
Vladimir Putin visited Vietnam four times during his tenure as president. The last time this happened was in November 2017, when the Russian leader arrived on a working visit to the APEC summit and met with then US President Donald Trump, and also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister (then Shinzo Abe) and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin’s last official visit to Vietnam took place in November 2013.
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After the meetings with the leadership of Vietnam, Putin will lay wreaths at the monument to the fallen heroes in the battle against the French colonialists at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the mausoleum of the first president of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh. Then the President of Russia will talk with Vietnamese graduates of Russian and Soviet universities.
The Russian delegation included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuichenko, Head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev, Director General of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheev, Director General of Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, Novatek Chairman of the Board Leonid Mikhelson, VEB.RF Chairman Igor Shuvalov, Governors Oleg Kozhemyako (Primorye), Gleb Nikitin (Nizhny Novgorod Region) and Vladislav Shapsha (Kaluga Region) and others.
The President of the Russian Federation arrived in Vietnam immediately after visiting North Korea. On June 19, Russian-Korean talks were held in Pyongyang in a narrow and expanded format. Following the meeting, Putin and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK Kim Jong-un signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 30, 1950, and June of this year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Foundations of Friendly Relations between Russia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In July 2012, the Joint Statement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was adopted, and in 2016, the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam entered into force. At the end of 2023, the volume of mutual trade between Russia and Vietnam increased by 8.3% compared to 2022 – up to $5 billion.
Experts says that Vladimir Putin’s visit to Vietnam on June 19-20, 2024 aimed to strengthen Russia’s influence in Southeast Asia and seek support amid the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions. Moscow has already a powerful ally with China.
Russia pushes for closer ties with Vietnam through cooperation in defense, energy, trade, and bilateral payment systems to bypass Western sanctions. Discussions focused on boosting security, defense, energy cooperation, and enabling payment methods for business.
Russia is a major defense supplier to Vietnam, providing big-ticket military equipment. Putin likely sought Vietnam’s support in transferring munitions to Russia.
Leaders also discussed Vietnam’s potential future membership in the BRICS group of emerging economies.
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