Putin’s State Visit to Vietnam

Putin and Vietnam’s President To Lam meet under the watchful gaze of Uncle Ho. 

Ba Dinh Square with the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in back center where Putin participated in a wreath laying ceremony. The presidential mansion is the yellow building with red roof on the far right with Hanoi in the background. Other government buildings are located in the near vicinity.

This is where Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence on 2 September 1945. Not included in the 89-image photo shoot was one of the Monument to the Fallen Heroes, although this description’s provided: “The main part of the memorial, more than 12 meters high, is made of white granite in the form of four adjacent arches with gilded vaults, oriented to the sides light.” Putin laid a wreath there too. It appears that all the venues for the visit are all in a tightly concentrated area around/within the Square. The grand reception was held at the President’s Palace,

 

after which Putin met with President of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tranh Thanh Man. A larger meeting was held between the Russian delegation and between Vladimir Putin and the General Secretary of the Central Committee Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. Negotiations were held in the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Here’s the Kremlin’s read-out of the visit:

An official welcoming ceremony was held on the square in front of the residence of the Vietnamese head of state Vladimir Putin by Vietnamese President To Lam.

Vladimir Putin and To Lam held Russian-Vietnamese talks with the participation of official delegations.

Within the framework of the state visit, a number of bilateral documents were adopted and signed. In the presence of the heads of state, a ceremony was held to exchange documents, the leaders made statements for the media.

The Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam adopted a Joint Statement on Further Deepening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the Context of the 30th Anniversary of the Implementation of the Russian-Vietnamese Treaty on the Foundations of Friendly Relations.

The President of Russia held separate meetings with the top leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vladimir Putin held talks with Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and Speaker of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man.

Further, at the Grand Opera House in Hanoi, Vladimir Putin and President of Vietnam To Lam met with graduates of Soviet and Russian universities. At the end of the event, the leaders listened to a concert program. Then a solemn receptionwas held on behalf of the President of Vietnam in honour of the President of Russia.

The President of Russia also took part in wreath-laying ceremonies at the Memorial to the Fallen Heroes and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

At the end of the visit, Vladimir Putin answered questions from Russian journalists.

I didn’t find anything spectacular in the Joint Statement, which is rather similar to that issued by Russia and China. The list of bilateral documents is more interesting:

15. Memorandum on Mutual Understanding and Cooperation between the Russian Road Research Institute and the Institute of Transport Science and technologies of Vietnam.

Prior to the concert held at the Colonial Era French Opera House, a conversation with graduates of Soviet and Russian universities was held:

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Vladimir Putin: Dear friends, good afternoon!

I am sincerely glad to meet with graduates of our country's universities and once again find myself in the circle of reliable friends of Russia.

I have the warmest and kindest memories of our similar meeting in the same format in Vietnam in 2001. Just like then, people who have sympathy and love for Russia and its people have gathered here today. Therefore, all the applause in my address is directed to the Russian Federation and its people, who also have very good feelings towards Vietnam.

All of you have studied the Russian language and the history of our country, and there is no need to even ask for the help of translators, they will be out of work in this format today. But I am sure that you, by virtue of your knowledge of the Russian language, are of course aware of what is happening in Russia now, how our country, our economy, science, and society as a whole are developing dynamically. You are familiar with our independent foreign policy. And we certainly appreciate it very much.

This is also important for us, of course, because many of you work in responsible positions in public authorities, scientific, socio-political organizations in Vietnam and have succeeded in business.

The fact that you have achieved success is first of all, of course, your personal merit, the result of your personal business qualities, your diligence and desire to master new knowledge, thoroughly master the chosen profession. But I hope that this is not least related to the quality of education that you have received in our country.

It is very important that you convey your good feelings for Russia to your relatives, children, and relatives who may never have been to our country, but I hope they show interest in it. In general, it is difficult to overestimate your contribution to strengthening Russian-Vietnamese relations, which, as stated in the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Statement adopted today, are of the nature of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

I would like to emphasize that Russia has always sincerely respected the courage, perseverance and heroism of the Vietnamese people in the struggle for their independence, as well as the hard work of the Vietnamese people, who passed through the most difficult trials with honor, defended the independence and freedom of their Fatherland, their vibrant culture and rich historical heritage.

I believe that the struggle for our historical roots, for our traditional values is an extremely important aspect for any state, for any country and for any people who want to be preserved as such and preserve their identity. This is what the peoples of our two countries have in common, and we are proud that in your glorious heroic victories there is also our contribution – the contribution of the Soviet Union, which did a lot to restore Vietnam: to develop its economic and defense potential, to solve acute social problems, to train highly qualified personnel of various specialties.

The outstanding Vietnamese statesman, son of the Vietnamese people Ho Chi Minh, who always thought about the future of his native country, about the education and training of Vietnamese youth, wrote: "For higher education, it is necessary to combine scientific theories with practice, adopt advanced technologies from other countries and implement them in the construction and development of the Fatherland, taking into account the specific conditions in the country." Having received excellent education, advanced knowledge and skills in the Soviet Union, and then in Russia, tens of thousands of Vietnamese young engineers, doctors, builders, teachers, and economists returned to their homeland to make it better: build cities, roads, train and treat people, create new industries, factories, and ensure reliable state security.

Currently, more than three thousand Vietnamese citizens study at Russian universities, and in total, about 75 thousand Vietnamese have been educated in our country. And, of course, we intend to continue to promote student exchanges, academic mobility, and the launch of joint educational projects and university programs in every possible way.

I am confident that based on the strong traditions of friendship and mutual assistance, we will continue to consistently develop the Russian-Vietnamese partnership, set new ambitious goals and objectives, and we will definitely achieve success.

I want to thank you for your attention.

I would like to thank you for your attention and interest in Russia, in the Russian language, and in working together.

I congratulate you on what you have achieved in your life, and I am sure that you will do even more for the benefit of your Fatherland, for the benefit of Vietnam, and for the benefit of Russian-Vietnamese friendship.

Thank you very much.

Moderator: We sincerely thank you, President Vladimir Putin.

Dear friends!

Vietnam and Russia share a deep and strong relationship that has been proven and proven over time. This is an invaluable asset of two countries and two peoples – Vietnam and Russia.

President Vladimir Putin has already visited Vietnam four times, and he always pays special attention to our country and people.

Now we would like to invite all our delegates and friends to talk with Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

We sincerely invite Professor, Doctor of Science Nguyen Dinh Duc, President of the Engineering and Technological Institute of the Vietnam National University, Chairman of the Vietnam-Russian Friendship Society of the Vietnam National University, post-graduate student of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Please take the floor.

Nguyen Dinh Duc: Good afternoon!

Vladimir Putin: Good morning.

Nguyen Dinh Duc: Dear President Putin,

That's what the Vietnamese people call you. I am very glad to see you. Today is a day off, and meeting today in this hall is a great honor for me and for many people.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Nguyen Dinh Duc. I am a professor at Vietnam State University. I defended my PhD thesis at Moscow State University, and then my doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Machine Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences. So I have almost 20 years of my life and work in Russia. All my youth was spent in Russia, and it became my second home.

Although many years have passed and I rarely spoke Russian, I still can't forget the Russian language. I can't forget the wonderful, beautiful, young years of my life in Russia. To this day, the love in my heart remains for Russian culture, for the Russian people.

Moreover, I am very proud to have studied in Russia, one of the world's largest countries in science, which helped me become a professor at one of the most prestigious universities in Vietnam today, a Vietnamese professor with international recognition.

So, Comrade Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to take this opportunity to once again express my gratitude to Russia and the Russian people.

I am confident that thanks to your visit, comprehensive cooperation between the two countries will be fully developed and promoted by the leaders of the two countries, reaching a new level.

I would like to ask you a question, Mr President.

I know that you recently stated at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum that in the next six years Russia will be among the top ten largest countries in the world in terms of research and innovation. Please tell me, in what area is science and technology more developed in Russia now? And what areas have the most potential opportunities for cooperation with Vietnam in the field of science and technology? What are the new decisions and initiatives proposed and adopted by the leaders of the two countries during your visit to promote cooperation in the field of science, technology and innovation?

Thank you very much. Good health and good luck!

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

First of all, I would like to thank you for your very kind words to Russia and congratulate you on the successful development of your career, your scientific career, first of all, because you have used the knowledge that you gained in Russia in the best possible way to serve your people. This is the first one.

Second – at the end of your speech and question, you wished me good health. And thank you very much for that. This is one of the most important priorities – people's health. Therefore, one of the priorities of our activities in the field of science is precisely population conservation, and this is connected with various areas of scientific research: both theoretical and applied scientific research.

This is everything that concerns human health, life expectancy, and not just duration, but quality of life. What does this mean? This is genetics, biology in the broadest sense of the word, bioengineering, and so on.

We all know that today all the most promising discoveries are made at the intersection of sciences. I mentioned genetics, biology, and theoretical medicine, but this is impossible to imagine without the development of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Therefore, all this is a priority.

Just recently, in one of our science cities, we discussed the prospects for the development of Russian science and defined the main directions and tasks of this development.

In order to achieve obvious results in this important area, which is related to the health and life expectancy of people, of course, we need to pay the necessary attention to environmental protection, and this is also one of the areas. In modern conditions, the endless and mindless exploitation of natural resources, especially in the face of climate change, becomes almost impossible. But we must approach this very carefully, with an understanding of where we are in terms of developing alternative areas in the energy sector, in what historical perspective and what role will be assigned to hydrocarbons. I will now wrap up all this for our cooperation.

We must ensure the security of our countries, which means that we must think – sadly, but we must also talk about this – about modern weapons systems, including those based on new physical principles. This means that we must develop engineering and train specialists. This means that we should think with you about the development of our research in the field of outer space, space exploration, both near and far space.

We have a lot of areas to work together in. And if you ask yourself what is most relevant for us, of course, now, we know that we are working closely in the energy sector, we are working closely within the Tropical Center. There is a lot to work on, and there are concrete achievements. It is clear that these specialists will be in demand there.

But if we are talking about the prospects of our cooperation in the more distant historical perspective, we need to look beyond the horizon and build our research in these very important areas, on the results of which the future of not only our economies, but also the sovereignty of our states will depend. All this should be the focus of our attention.

In general, we discussed this today with the President, the Secretary General, and the Prime Minister, building our cooperation in these important areas.

Let me thank you for your question and wish you further success, I hope, in cooperation with your Russian partners.

Le Minh Ngoc: Hello, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Vladimir Putin: Hello!

Le Minh Ngoc: My name is Le Minh Ngoc, I am a lecturer at the Russian Language Department of Hanoi University.

I studied in Russia in the late 90s and 2000s. Although I have been back home for quite some time, I continue to work with the Russian language. And I always want as many of my fellow citizens as possible to visit Russia, to see the vast, beautiful country with its beautiful and kind people. I want as many Vietnamese as possible to become, like me, a bridge between our countries.

In connection with our joyous event today, I would like to ask the following question. Now many of our students, schoolchildren, and their parents ask: how will knowing Russian help them in their future career?

And I want to ask: What does Russia plan to do and what areas will you work in in the coming years to help Vietnamese students studying Russian expand their employment prospects?

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your love of the Russian language.

You study and teach Russian, and this is already a specialty. Why? Because you were just talking about Russian history and Russian culture, which is also an area of knowledge. Russian literature and art in the broadest sense of the word are part of world culture. And of course, in order to be guided in general by the achievements that humanity has achieved in this area, in the field of culture, knowledge of Russian culture is very significant.

Speaking Russian in itself makes it possible to discover not only the Russian soul and Russian art, but also to use it to gain relevant knowledge, which you have done and is still being done by three thousand people who are currently studying in Russia, and 75 thousand who have graduated from universities in the Russian Federation and the Soviet Union-some of them are located in here. You need to choose the areas that are of the greatest interest to you.

I have already talked about what we are doing in Russia and what we consider promising. This is just what came straight to mind. In order to achieve results in all these areas, for example, we will actively engage in the development of artificial intelligence – and we have achieved very good results, I want to tell you.

We have such companies as Yandex and Sber, which are certainly achieving leadership positions. Or, for example, Rosatom is the undisputed leader in such innovations as research in the field of nuclear technologies, and I will say a few more words about Rosatom. These are really leading positions in the world. There are practically no such developments as in Russia in any country in the world. Is it promising or not? Yes, this is very promising from the point of view of theoretical physics, nuclear physics.

We have just launched a world-class installation in one of our science cities, which explores questions related to the beginning of the "life" of our universe. It studies directly the first seconds of the universe's existence after the so-called Big Bang. This is very interesting, but not only from the point of view of learning how the world works. Remember what Einstein said? He was asked: why did you take up physics? Because I wanted to understand where it all came from, how it all started in the world, what the world consists of.

These studies are also being conducted in Dubna and in some of our other centers, such as the Kurchatov Institute of Nuclear Physics.

There is also a practical direction for this research – a peaceful atom. Our company Rosatom is a leader, an undisputed leader in the world: it builds 22 units for power plants in a number of foreign countries – and we are developing this direction in Russia. These are the most reliable and safe nuclear power plants in the world.

We have now agreed with our colleagues that we will set up a nuclear research center in Vietnam, a research center. What is it related to? Including what we started with – medicine, because modern opportunities in the field of the atom create additional, sorry for the tautology, opportunities for treating people, for preventing diseases, including those of a genetic nature. There is a lot to work on here.

I'm not even talking about other areas, including those related to defense and security. We have a lot of areas of research that we can be proud of and that are very promising, including because we have planned quite large budget investments in certain areas of this research.

Everyone can choose the most promising area of training according to their interests – of course, this is primarily due to the interest of a person – and decide on their future profession.

Therefore, the choice is up to those who are determined to find their own path in life, and the sooner this is done for any person, the better.

Question: Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich!

My name is An. It is a great honor to be here with you. Before that, I watched you only on TV, now - in one space.

I'm the head of the eye surgery department here [in Vietnam]. I would like to say that Russia is our second homeland. My grandfather, father and I all studied in Russia. My grandfather was the CEO of a shipbuilding company, my father is the CEO of an airline, and I'm where I am now. Therefore, the quality of Russian education is not even a question.

Thanks to the fact that I studied in Russia, and my supervisor was Svyatoslav Fyodorov's right-hand man, we were able to get six utility model patents, inventions and win first place during the General Indian Ophthalmology Conference. So for me, I think this is a huge victory, and this is only thanks to the Russian education.

About the question. I would like to ask – the question is more related to medicine, with ophthalmology.

Now a lot of Vietnamese citizens are going blind from corneal diseases. I know that in Russia there are very strong centers of the eye tissue bank at MNTK "Eye Microsurgery". It's always been a dream of mine – how would I do it to set up an eye bank like this here, so that we can do corneal transplants in Vietnam?

In the end, I would also like to thank you for choosing to come to Vietnam and wish you the best of health. To me, you are a symbol of power. I wish you good luck and return to Vietnam again.

Vladimir Putin: First, I mention your Russian language. You speak with almost no accent. What does "practically" mean? No accent. And that's great. First.

Second. You said that it is only through education that you have achieved such results in your profession. I think that first of all you have achieved these results thanks to your hard work and talent. Of course, without education, it is impossible here, especially since this is a special, special field of activity.

Third, if you think that I am such an expert on all the issues that will be raised here, you are mistaken. But I will do my best to help you and create the bank you mentioned.

I wish you further success.

Reply: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Indeed, who doesn't know, I can say that Svyatoslav Fedorov is one of our outstanding surgeons in the field of vision and eye treatment. He created a globally recognized system of treatment for his patients, put this treatment on stream, and achieved outstanding results. And of course, you're lucky to get exactly where you need to go, which is great.

Thank you very much.

Do Hong Kuan: Dear President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Dear President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam, Dear comrades and friends!

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Do Hong Kuan, which means "Red Army" in Russian. I was a student and then a post-graduate student at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory in Moscow. I was a composer and musician. I am now the chairman of the Vietnam Literature and Art Union.

I would like to ask you two questions today, Mr President.

First question. As you know, Russia, like Vietnam, has heroic historical traditions. This is a very nice tradition, and we are proud of it. Please tell me, Mr President, how is the education of historical traditions organized among young people in Russia today?

Vladimir Putin: You know, the first thing I want to say is that both in the Soviet Union and in other countries, including Vietnam, the directions of work with young people are being developed in one way or another.

First of all, what should I pay attention to? This work should be very modern. It should not be boring and inefficient, and in no case should it be ineffective. It should not be, most importantly, formal. As soon as young people feel formalism, this work loses its meaning in the same second, especially in the modern world connected with the Internet and free access to any information.

It is impossible to restrict access to a huge flow of information. Therefore, there is only one way to overcome the negative trends associated with this, and that is to be more convincing in the information field. For the peoples of the former Soviet Union, for Russia today, and for Vietnam, such opportunities exist precisely because of outstanding examples of patriotism and heroism, in this case of the Vietnamese people, especially related to the pages of the struggle for independence and sovereignty, for the unification of the country.

This is what we need to educate young people on, but we need to do it in a talented way, not in a cool way, as we say. Of course, you can educate entire generations on this, but you need to do it, of course, in an elegant, modern way, in modern ways to bring this information to the desired target audience. This is not an easy job, but if we want to have a future, we need to do it today, in the way I said. First.

Secondly, this does not mean that the forms that have developed in your country were in the Soviet Union or originally in Russia, and that these forms need to be somehow destroyed. No, these forms, of course, need to be preserved, only filled with the necessary, interesting content and, as they say now in our country – in fact, not only in our country – with modern content. And of course, we need to look for new forms and opportunities.

We have done this in our country-we have created a "Movement of the first" for young people, children. The Armed Forces are developing their own platform related to training personnel for themselves in the future, with patriotic education. There are other directions as well. The earlier this work starts, the better.

The most important thing is that everything, of course, comes from the family, so the task of the state is to support families in this regard, to set up society in such a way that it itself and from within organizes this process of education. If this is not achieved, it is almost impossible to do it at the formal and administrative level.

It seems to me that if we understand all these components of educational work, we need to build our work in a modern way, and this work should change every day, because life changes every day. Then we will definitely be successful.

Do Hong Kuan: The second question is related to music. We in Vietnam know that you are very fond of music. Can you tell us what you think about the role of music, culture, art and literature in the cultural life of every nation?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I was in Yakutia before leaving the territory of the Russian Federation, first to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and then here. This is a very large region of the Russian Federation. In terms of area, it is about the same as the whole of India – such a huge territory. In this audience, you probably don't need to talk, you probably know about it.

A music school for children was organized there in the early 2000s. Moreover, local authorities bring children from all over the republic, gather talented children from all over the republic, and they practice music there. And they do it how? At first, they just study at school, a specialized music school, and then it all goes to the conservatory – the Higher School of Music at the same venues. This is how musicians are prepared for the republic and for the whole of Russia. My children also asked me questions about music, culture, and art.

You just asked about parenting. But education should be based first of all on our traditional values and on the values of our culture, and first of all on the national culture, but based on the fact that the national culture of each nation and state is part of a multinational world culture. Of course, we should be proud of this and focus on it.

As for music, I would like to say the same thing that I said in Yakutia, namely: after all, this is an art that is not connected with words, is not connected with any meanings that are expressed in written or oral creativity. It's just related to sounds. The magical penetration of sound directly into the heart without any language accompaniment is extremely important. It brings people together. Here you don't need knowledge of foreign languages, you just need a sense of beauty, and it is also brought up.

In this sense, music is an absolutely international art form that unites peoples, and this is its enormous strength. I envy you, I envy the fact that you have devoted part of your life to this.

We probably need to finish up. But since you are all graduates of Russian universities, in this sense, I feel that you have not yet lost your student status, and students are always associated with a certain student democracy, so let's go beyond our official meeting and discuss one issue by sector. If you feel like it, just raise your hand.

Q: We know that you love the piano, you love music. I want to know, tell me: what is your favorite Russian song?

Vladimir Putin: You know, I would prefer not to answer this question, because it will have some formal, administrative consequences. I just really love Russian folk art and Russian classics.

I would not divide the art of music according to a national or state principle. It seems to me that to divide on the basis of nationality, to restrict on the basis of nationality, to prohibit something on the basis of national or state principle-this is complete nonsense. You just need to enjoy the art and let people do the same.

Therefore, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Borodin, Mussorgsky, and Glinka are all people who have made a huge contribution to the development of world art. And we need to give all people around the world the opportunity to enjoy this creativity.

Question: Hello, President Vladimir Vladimirovich!

My name is An. I completed my master's degree at St. Petersburg State University.

Vladimir Putin: We are "odnokorytniki". (Laughter.) I graduated from it, too.

Question: Yes. I'm very happy about it.

Now I am engaged in tourism. I have a question for you: what measures will Russia and you take to solve the current difficulties in the tourism sector?

First of all, we currently have no direct flights between Vietnam and Russia – namely, between Hanoi and Moscow.

And also about the payment. In payments between our travel companies – Vietnamese and Russian-we pay large interest rates for the exchange rate difference. It is very difficult for us to continue developing tourism between the two countries.

Vladimir Putin: When you were studying in St. Petersburg, you were probably called Anya there, right?

Remark: Yes. Anechka and Anya.

Vladimir Putin: Anechka, thank you very much for these questions, and I will explain why. Because you drove the puck in the direction of Russia, I will now send you a return puck.

Here's the thing. Of course, we must address these issues from two sides. Of course, tourism exchange is a very important area of our cooperation, both from a humanitarian and economic point of view. This is a fact.

In some countries, for example in Turkey, our tourists leave five billion dollars a year – for a second, this is a good contribution to the development of a friendly neighboring state. Of course, the distances here are different, between Russia and Vietnam, but nevertheless the growth potential is very large.

Unfortunately, there are also elements of outside influence. For example, the Vietnamese operator refuses to technically service our Aeroflot Airbus planes.

You are all graduates here, we can assume that we are one family, so we must speak frankly. These are issues of tertiary sanctions from third countries. We won't go into details now, but you understand what I'm talking about. We need to solve this. Can I? Yes, you can. But the Vietnamese operators are also faced with difficult conditions, and this is a task that we must solve together. First.

The second is about calculations. There are problems here that we discussed at every level of today's talks: with the President, the Prime Minister, and the Secretary General. There are issues related to calculations, and this is also not a problem created by us – I mean Russia and Vietnam – but also a problem created from the outside, but it can also be solved.

There are issues related to switching to payments in national currencies, including rubles. It is easy to do this, you just need to appoint authorized banks that would not be afraid of tertiary sanctions that do not work in third countries. Technically, there is nothing complicated in this, you just need to build this work administratively.

Finally, there are issues that are on our side, purely on the Russian side. For example, Vietnamese friends have extended the length of stay of Russian citizens in Vietnam. We should do the same on the territory of the Russian Federation. Now Vietnamese citizens have the right to apply for, say, electronic visas, but they make it possible to stay in Russia for only 16 days. I told the Foreign Minister today: We will extend this period, just as our Vietnamese friends have done for Russian citizens staying in your country.

Reply: Thank you very much. [My Emphasis]

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