Russia-Vietnam talks

The international consultations began with a meeting between Vladimir Putin and To Lam To LamGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee 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 Lavrov SergeiMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation , Deputy Prime Minister, Co-Chair of the Russian-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Chernyshenko Chernyshenko DmitryDeputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation , Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin Oreshkin MaximDeputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office , Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov Ushakov YuryAide to the President , Finance Minister Anton Siluanov Siluanov AntonMinister of Finance of the Russian Federation , and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina Nabiullina ElviraGovernor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) .

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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.

To be continued.