Vietnam's Top Leader Meets Russian Federation Council Speaker, Affirms Deepening Bilateral Ties

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam met with Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matvienko, in Moscow. Both sides agreed to advance the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries into a new stage of deeper, more substantial, and effective development. Speaker Matvienko emphasized that Vietnam is an important partner and a traditional, reliable friend of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region, affirming the Federation Council's strong support for strengthening and developing bilateral ties. She also praised the achievements in all areas that Vietnam has made under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. President To Lam expressed gratitude for the warm reception extended to the Vietnamese delegation by Speaker Matvienko and the Federation Council, stating that Vietnam always prioritizes and values its traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. He noted satisfaction with the high level of trust in the political relations between the two countries and the frequent exchanges at the highest levels and other tiers. Both leaders highlighted the importance of cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries, calling for further strengthening exchanges among parliamentary leaders, specialized committees, friendship parliamentarian groups, young parliamentarians, and women parliamentarians. They also underscored the significance of improving the legal framework conducive to bilateral cooperation and enhancing the supervision and acceleration of the implementation of agreements between the leaders and governments of both nations, thereby transforming political commitments into concrete cooperation programs and projects. Regarding local cooperation, both sides recognized its importance and agreed to effectively leverage existing relationships while actively fostering new cooperative ties. They also encouraged direct exchanges between local leaders and businesses to identify specific projects in areas such as trade, investment, tourism, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, aligning with each side's potential and needs. Furthermore, the two sides agreed to enhance coordination in regional and international parliamentary forums, committing to consult, cooperate, and support each other within multilateral parliamentary mechanisms to contribute to promoting dialogue, cooperation, peace, stability, and sustainable development. President To Lam affirmed Vietnam's support for strengthening the role of parliamentary diplomacy and expressed expectations that the parliaments of both countries will closely coordinate and actively contribute to promoting Vietnam-Russia relations and resolving regional and international issues based on the principle of respecting international law. At the end of the meeting, President To Lam conveyed a message of greetings and an invitation from Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man to Speaker Matvienko for an official visit to Vietnam in late 2026. Speaker Matvienko expressed her gratitude and stated her readiness to coordinate with the State Duma to welcome Chairman Tran Thanh Man during an appropriate time.