President To Lam received Azerbaijani Ambassador to Vietnam Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade, July 16, 2024. (Source: VNA)

Speaking to The Gioi and Viet Nam Newspaper ahead of the State visit of General Secretary To Lam and his wife along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Vietnam Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade expressed his hope that the visit will open up a new future of stronger and more substantive cooperation between the two countries with a deep traditional friendship in the past.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Vietnam Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade. (Photo: Thu Trang)

How does the Ambassador assess the significance of General Secretary To Lam's upcoming state visit to Azerbaijan?

The State visit to Azerbaijan by General Secretary To Lam and his wife is of special significance and historic significance in the new development stage of the two countries. This is the first visit by the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam to Azerbaijan since the two countries established diplomatic relations and also the first visit by General Secretary To Lam to our country since he took office.

Azerbaijan attached special importance to this event and the visit was held at the highest level - the State level.

It has been more than 10 years since the last meeting between the two countries' heads of state, which was the State visit to Vietnam by Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev in May 2014. Therefore, the two countries will have an open agenda to discuss and further develop bilateral relations.

We expect the Vietnam-Azerbaijan relationship to have a breakthrough through the historic meeting of the two countries' senior leaders.

Could the Ambassador share about the key areas of cooperation between Vietnam and Azerbaijan in recent times, as well as potential areas that the two countries need to exploit in the context of green transformation and digital transformation?

Our bilateral relations began with cooperation in the field of education. After President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Azerbaijan in 1959, the two countries began to cooperate in education and most Vietnamese students studied oil and gas.

After Vietnam’s reunification, many Azerbaijanis came to Vietnam and developed oil and gas with their friends in the S-shaped land. A typical example is the first Chairman of the Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Oil and Gas Company Vietsovpetro Javal Namidofi, who is also Azerbaijani. It can be said that the historical context and cooperation in the fields of education, energy, culture, etc. have become the core elements of our relationship.

Today, building on these important achievements and legacies, we are moving further in our green transition together. Very soon, our two countries will launch green energy projects as Azerbaijan also pays great attention to this important sector.

Last November, Azerbaijan hosted the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) and is currently implementing many of the initiatives and decisions taken at the conference. Azerbaijan is working closely with Vietnam to do this, as well as to establish joint green transition projects.

Similarly, Azerbaijan also attaches great importance to digital transformation, especially in the field of infrastructure and transport development. Azerbaijan looks forward to Vietnam's participation in the Asia-Europe transport corridor, called the "middle corridor", along with Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and China.

All these new areas of cooperation are being promoted by Vietnam and Azerbaijan and there are great challenges ahead. These challenges further highlight the importance of the visit and cooperation to address the challenges will be on the agenda of both sides.

General Secretary To Lam's wife received Ms. Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation (Azerbaijan) during her working visit to Vietnam on April 22, 2025. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Vietnam has just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) with many meaningful activities. How does the Ambassador feel about the heroic atmosphere in Vietnam during the last days of historic April?

On this special occasion, Azerbaijan would like to extend our most sincere congratulations to the Party, State and people of Vietnam for these great achievements. During these sacred days, Azerbaijan is proud to have always been close to support our Vietnamese friends during difficult times.

Besides, we are also proud of our contribution to the development of Vietnam. After Vietnam's reunification, one of the leading countries supporting the reconstruction of the S-shaped land was the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union sent the first and largest delegation to Vietnam to review many development projects and the head of this delegation was the late President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.

The photo right behind me is of Mr. Heydar Alyiev and the late General Secretary Do Muoi at the construction site of the Hoa Binh power plant in 1983. During his visit to Vietnam as a member of the Politburo and First Vice President of the Soviet Union, Mr. Heydar Alyiev attended the inauguration ceremony of infrastructure projects, visited regions of Vietnam, met with local authorities, experts, workers and people. After this visit, many important decisions were made to continue to effectively support Vietnam.

Half a century after reunification, Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world with a strong economy. This is a tremendous achievement. Azerbaijan believes that the reforms being implemented by Vietnam will further strengthen the country's development and hopes that Vietnam will become one of the strongest economies in the world.

Personally, I see a very special Vietnam these days when many children and adults wear T-shirts with the Vietnamese flag, walk around and take pictures in many places, especially the area of ​​Uncle Ho's Mausoleum.

It is wonderful to see the red flag with yellow star hanging in every window, on the shirts and hats of the Vietnamese people, creating a very warm atmosphere. It can be seen that the deep patriotism of the people is one of the strongest motivations for Vietnam to continue to develop and grow in the new era.

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister E. Mammadov co-chaired the Political Consultation on April 21.

According to the Ambassador, what should Vietnam and Azerbaijan do to further promote the good traditional friendship, promote and bring the countries and people of the two countries closer together in the coming time?

I believe that we will get an answer to this question after the meeting between the leaders of the two countries in Baku. And there will certainly be decisions to strengthen cooperation in many areas such as tourism, education, information technology, transportation, production, joint projects, agriculture and environment...

One of the main focuses of efforts to promote bilateral relations should be the younger generation, by continuing and strengthening cooperation in the field of education. Many Vietnamese who studied in Azerbaijan long ago are still enthusiastically participating in the meetings.

When we welcomed Ms. Leila Aliyev, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, to Vietnam, we were very moved to see many Vietnamese friends coming to see her, singing Azerbaijani songs and sharing that this country is also their second homeland. I hope that we will continue to "keep the flame" of this traditional friendship by continuing to prioritize educational cooperation.

In addition, tourism, cultural exchange and people-to-people exchanges also need to be focused on. In particular, in the future, I hope that a direct flight route between the two countries will be established to meet the increasing travel demand between the two countries.

We also expect Vietnam to soon open an embassy in Baku.

Every July - the time marking President Ho Chi Minh's visit to Baku, Azerbaijan organizes "Vietnam Days in Baku" with the participation of many Vietnamese friends in the fields of tourism, restaurants, cinema, and music. Within the framework of this event, we screen Vietnamese films dubbed into Azerbaijani, organize product exhibitions, as well as introduce famous cuisine of the S-shaped country such as pho and other traditional dishes.

Thank you very much Ambassador!

Ambassador Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade presented Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son with a photo of Uncle Ho visiting Azerbaijan in 1959, on March 22. (Source: Embassy of Azerbaijan in Vietnam)