🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin's statement to the media following talks with General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, President of Vietnam To Lam (Moscow, September 9, 2026) Before addressing the media, the Leaders oversaw an exchange of documents signed during President To Lam’s state visit to Russia. 💬 Vladimir Putin: Russia and Vietnam are strategic partners, and relations between our countries have consistently been built on the principles of equality, mutual respect and consideration for each other’s interests. Our peoples are bound by truly strong and long-standing ties of friendship, comradeship-in-arms, mutual assistance and support. In its time, the Soviet Union did a great deal to help the young Vietnamese state withstand the struggle for freedom and independence, while also contributing to the development of its economy, social sector and infrastructure and to personnel training. It is on this solid foundation that Russia-Vietnam cooperation continues to develop successfully and acquire new practical substance. A number of major joint projects are being implemented. The Intergovernmental Commission is operating effectively, while regular dialogue is maintained between the Foreign Ministries, security councils, parliaments, political parties and public organizations. Today, Comrade To Lam, members of his delegation and I discussed the state of bilateral cooperation in detail, exchanged views on current regional and international issues and, of course, outlined priorities for further deepening the Russia-Vietnam partnership. These priorities are reflected in the final Joint Statement. Considerable attention was devoted to economic issues. We noted with satisfaction that trade increased by 5.7% in 2025. But, of course, as our dear friend and guest pointed out, this is not enough. In absolute terms, the overall volume still falls short of our potential. 📈 Nevertheless, the trend is positive: in the first half of 2026, trade grew by a further 13.8%. This positive momentum is largely the result of the free trade agreement concluded between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union. The agreement has helped boost mutual investment and intensify technology exchanges. ☝️ Importantly, Russia and Vietnam are consistently shifting to national currencies in mutual settlements and building reliable channels of financial and banking cooperation. In this way, we are protecting bilateral trade from the negative impact of the global political environment and volatility on world markets. Today, Comrade To Lam and I opened by video link a new modern laboratory at the Russia-Vietnam Tropical Research and Technology Centre in Hanoi. The laboratory will focus on disease prevention, the development of medicines and a number of other tasks relevant to tropical climates. Our discussion of current global and regional issues confirmed that the positions of Vietnam and Russia largely coincide or are very close. Our countries firmly uphold the principles of the supremacy of international law, sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, and jointly support stable and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific Region. 🤝 We discussed all these matters in detail with our Vietnamese colleagues, stressing the importance of continuing to coordinate our efforts at key multilateral platforms, including within the #RussiaASEAN dialogue. Read in full 🇷🇺🇻🇳 #RussiaVietnam