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The international consultations began with a meeting between Vladimir Putin and To Lam in a restricted format and continued in the format of an official breakfast attended by members of the Russian and Vietnamese delegations.

On the Russian side, the restricted-format meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister, Co-Chair of the Russian-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina.

Following the talks, the heads of state adopted a Joint Declaration on the Main Areas of Russia-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Era. The leaders were also present during a ceremony to exchange the documents signed during General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam’s official visit to Russia.

The documents signed include an intergovernmental agreement on expanding the geological survey and oil and gas production areas on the continental shelf in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and in the Russian Federation, as well as protocols amending earlier signed intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in this field; an intergovernmental agreement on the establishment and operation of the Alexander Pushkin Russian Language Centre; interagency documents concerning, specifically, contests for joint Russian-Vietnamese research projects, as well as tourism, biomedicine, peaceful use of nuclear energy, cooperation between the foreign ministries, the justice ministries, and between universities.

Vladimir Putin and To Lam also made statements for the media.

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Beginning of Russian-Vietnamese talks in restricted format

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Comrade To Lam,

I am delighted to see you again.

First of all, I would like to thank you once again for deciding to attend the celebrations marking the 80^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Furthermore, Vietnam was represented at the military parade by your country' military unit. Thank you very much for this sign of appreciation.

We always emphasise that Russia and Vietnam are bound by a years-long friendship that dates back not only to the times when Vietnam was fighting for its independence, but also to the Great Patriotic War because — I would like to remind our colleagues and the peoples of our countries — a voluntary corps of the Vietnamese internationalist troops fought in the Battle of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War. Of course, there were major events during Vietnam’s struggle for its own independence. All this strengthened our relations throughout decades.

Today, Russia-Vietnam relations are progressing across all sectors. We maintain regular contact through diplomatic channels. Our government bodies cooperate at the parliamentary level. Last year, our mutual trade grew by 20 percent, which is a good indicator.

This year is full of significant and diverse landmark events: the 80^th anniversary of Vietnam’s independence, which we discussed yesterday, the 50 years since the liberation of the south, and 75 years of diplomatic relations between our countries. All these milestones are important and highly symbolic for our countries. We will certainly highlight them, but above all, we must continue to look to the future.

As before, we will focus on humanitarian projects, such as personnel training. This has always been an important part of our work. I remember when I met with graduates of Russian universities during my visit to Vietnam, that meeting was so full of warmth. We see that Vietnamese society is very mindful of Russian-Vietnamese relations. We also value this very much.

We are delighted to see you. Welcome.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam (retranslated): Mr Vladimir Putin,

I am delighted to meet with you again as your close friend, almost a year after your state visit to Vietnam last June.

I sincerely thank you and Russia for the warm welcome that my wife and I and my delegation have received. I am very touched by your statement here, by your sincere words and your praise of the relations between our countries.

On behalf of the people of Vietnam, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and Russia on the excellently organised celebrations [of the 80^th anniversary of Victory]. Victory Day is an important milestone in the history of Russia and the world, and a good opportunity for us to revisit the invaluable lessons of patriotism and unbending striving for victory that were learned back then. It was a triumphant victory of democratic, progressive and peace-loving forces around the world. That Victory destroyed fascism, colonialism, and imperialism, and brought peace and prosperity to humanity.

I congratulate you on the achievements that the Russian people have made over the past time, and I hope that the special military operation will end in the coming months.

At today’s meeting, I would like us to focus on a few current strategic issues.

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