At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from May 8 to 11, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation and attend the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

On the occasion of this event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Russian Federation Dang Minh Khoi gave an interview to Nhan Dan Newspaper's correspondent in Russia about the significance of the visit, highlights in bilateral relations in recent times and prospects for developing relations between the two countries in the coming time, especially regarding the first time the Vietnam People's Army sent forces to participate in a military parade abroad.

Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi affirmed that this is the first official visit to the Russian Federation by General Secretary To Lam in his position as the highest leader of the Party, taking place at a time when the two countries have just celebrated their 100th anniversary. 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, as well as the 70th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's first official visit to the Soviet Union.

This is also the occasion when Vietnam celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day. The people of the former Soviet Union and the present-day Russian Federation celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory Day. It can be said that the visit took place at a historic, symbolic time and has many extremely important meanings. The visit affirms the historical inheritance, the current state of bilateral relations and looks towards a new future.

According to Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi, looking back over the course of history, although Vietnam and the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation today have gone through 75 years of establishing diplomatic relations, in fact more than 100 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh first set foot in Russia and from here he found the way to save the country.

The people of the two countries have shared many historical values ​​that are closely linked together. These are independence, freedom, and the happiness of the people. Under the light of the October Revolution, as well as the influence of the Soviet Union's victory in World War II, the August Revolution in Vietnam succeeded, and Vietnam gained independence. After that, our people won the resistance war against colonialism in 1954, liberated the South, and reunified the country in 1975.

In 1941, under the direction of Uncle Ho, 7 Vietnamese volunteer soldiers joined the Red Army to defend Moscow and 3 of them bravely sacrificed their lives.

In October 2024, the Russian Federation inaugurated a monument to the three Vietnamese soldiers who died at that time, recognizing the contributions of the Vietnamese people to the common struggle of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

On the other hand, looking back at history during the resistance wars against France and the US, tens of thousands of Soviet military advisors came to help Vietnam and many of them sacrificed their lives.

After the war, tens of thousands of Soviet advisors helped Vietnam build many typical projects, helping Vietnam build the country in the early days. It can be said that the history of the two countries is very closely linked, truly sincere, recognizing the wholehearted help.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a period when relations between the two countries stagnated, but over the past 20 years, Vietnam-Russia relations have gradually recovered and developed strongly. Last year, Vietnam and Russia celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Basic Principles of Friendship Relations and the 12th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi emphasized that in 2024 and early 2025, the relationship between the two countries will develop strongly in all areas. The most obvious mark is the frequent high-level contacts.

In June 2024, President Putin will officially visit Vietnam. In January 2025, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Vietnam. In the opposite direction, in October 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the expanded BRICS Summit in Kazan.

In September 2024, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man paid an official visit to the Russian Federation. In addition, General Secretary To Lam had a very important phone call with Russian President Putin.

It can be said that the phone calls and high-level contacts have shaped the development of bilateral relations and the fields of cooperation in politics, economics, trade and people-to-people exchange have developed very strongly.

During this visit of General Secretary To Lam, the two countries' top leaders can discuss major orientations for developing bilateral relations not only for the next 5 or 10 years but possibly longer.

Vietnam and Russia are both ready and willing to deepen the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, build more trustworthy political relations, more substantive and effective economic and trade relations, and closer people-to-people exchanges.

Regarding the prospects for developing bilateral relations in the coming time, according to Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi, in addition to the fields of cooperation in security, defense, oil and gas - the main pillars in bilateral cooperation, the two countries expect to open up new areas of cooperation, seek new driving forces to promote relations, first of all in the field of science and technology cooperation.

The Soviet Union (formerly) and the Russian Federation today are science and technology powerhouses. Russia's basic research is very good and has recently developed strongly from basic research to applied research. Although the Russian Federation has encountered many difficulties in the past, the country has still achieved many important achievements in the fields of nuclear, quantum, artificial intelligence, new science and technology, green energy, etc. This is very necessary for Vietnam to learn from and take advantage of the experience, technology, and capital of the Russian Federation to develop the country.

In addition, Vietnam has restarted its nuclear power project. Nuclear cooperation is also a priority area of ​​cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. Russia said that it is not simply cooperating in building 1 or 2 nuclear power plants, but also helping Vietnam develop the nuclear industry. This can be said to be a key technology industry that helps Vietnam step firmly into a new period of development for the country.

In addition, there are many other areas for cooperation between the two countries such as transportation, logistics, etc. The prospects for cooperation between the two countries are enormous. The important thing is that the ministries, branches and localities of the two countries now need to take advantage of the opportunity and implement well the high-level agreements to promote cooperation in the field of science and technology.

In the coming time, the two countries need to pay more attention to the field of educational and training cooperation. Vietnam needs to make good use of the annual Russian scholarships, train high-quality human resources to help develop the country, in which priority is given to the fields of basic research, manufacturing, technology, including the field of academic art training.

About Vietnam People's Army Sending troops to participate in the parade at Red Square on May 9, the Ambassador felt very proud because this was the first time the army sent troops abroad to parade, and it was even more honorable to parade at Red Square on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

This is a victory not only of the Soviet people, but also of progressive people around the world in the struggle against fascism, bringing peace to the world.

According to the Ambassador, Vietnam's participation is of great significance, not only showing that Vietnam not only remembers and pays tribute to the heroes of the Soviet people who sacrificed their lives in World War II, affirming the extremely close relationship between Vietnam and the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation today, but also bringing the image of a peace-loving Vietnam, ready to contribute to the common work of the world.