Vietnam's Top Leader Meets Russian Federation Council Chairwoman, Agrees to Enhance Parliamentary Cooperation

General Secretary and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, To Lam, held a meeting with Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Valentina Matvienko, in Moscow on September 8 (local time). Matvienko reaffirmed that the Federation Council regards Viet Nam as a "traditional and trusted friend and an important partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region." She strongly supported further strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries across all fields. Matvienko also congratulated Viet Nam on the successful organization of elections for deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026–2031 term. Elections held under Vietnam's one-party system are considered important opportunities to reflect the will of the people. General Secretary and President To Lam expressed gratitude for the warm reception by Matvienko and the Federation Council, emphasizing that Viet Nam always attaches great importance to its traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. He expressed his desire to further promote the valuable ties nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries, bringing bilateral relations into a new phase of more substantive, profound, and effective development. To Lam highly praised the contributions of the Federation Council and Matvienko to bilateral ties, particularly the positive outcomes of parliamentary cooperation. He proposed stepping up exchanges between leaders of the two legislatures, specialized committees, friendship parliamentarians' groups, and young and female parliamentarians, while enhancing the sharing of experience in legislation, oversight, and decision-making on major national issues. He also stated that it is important for the two legislative bodies to continue contributing to the development of a favorable legal framework for bilateral cooperation and to strengthen supervision and follow-up of agreements reached by the two countries, thereby turning political commitments into concrete programs, projects, and practical cooperation outcomes. Matvienko affirmed that the Federation Council stands ready to work closely with the Vietnamese National Assembly and make positive contributions to implementing the orientations and agreements reached by the two countries' senior leaders. Regarding local-level cooperation, both sides agreed that this area has considerable potential and can serve as an important channel for deepening bilateral ties. They called for more effective implementation of existing partnerships and the establishment of new pairs of partner localities. They also encouraged local authorities and businesses to increase direct contacts to identify specific projects matching their respective strengths and needs, particularly in trade, investment, tourism, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Matvienko stressed that the friendship between the Russian and Vietnamese peoples has been cultivated over generations and should be passed on to younger generations. She voiced support for greater cultural, educational, tourism, and youth exchanges, as well as efforts to promote Russian language teaching and learning in Viet Nam and Vietnamese in Russia. Noting that Viet Nam is becoming increasingly attractive to Russian visitors, she said there remains vast potential to expand cultural and tourism cooperation, thereby strengthening people-to-people ties and economic links. Views were also exchanged on cooperation at regional and international parliamentary forums, with both sides agreeing to maintain consultation, coordination, and mutual support within multilateral parliamentary mechanisms, thus contributing to dialogue, cooperation, peace, stability, and sustainable development. To Lam affirmed Viet Nam's support for enhancing the role of parliamentary diplomacy in promoting dialogue, building trust, and fostering cooperation among nations. He expressed his hope that the two legislatures would continue coordinating closely and contributing to the advancement of Viet Nam-Russia relations and the settlement of regional and international issues on the basis of respect for international law. On the occasion, To Lam conveyed greetings and an invitation from National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man to Matvienko to visit Viet Nam this year. Matvienko welcomed the invitation and expressed her readiness to coordinate with the State Duma in arranging a visit to Russia by the top Vietnamese legislator at a mutually convenient time./.