Vietnamese, Russian Top Diplomats To Discuss Security, Int'l Agenda Tuesday - Ambassador

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2021) Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet in Moscow on September 28 for a comprehensive discussion of bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi told Sputnik.

Son is currently on an official visit to Russia � the first country he traveled to as Vietnam's foreign minister. The visit is running from September 24-28.

"It is expected that the two ministers will discuss major directions and detailed measures to further promote bilateral cooperation in all fields of politics, foreign affairs, security, defense, economy, trade, investment, culture; exchange views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, as well as measures to strengthen coordination between the two countries on international issues, and arrangement of high-level visits from now until the end of the year," Khoi said.

The ministers will also touch upon specific measures to strengthen cooperation on preventing and controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, including the supply of Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V and the transfer of its technology to Vietnam, the ambassador said.

Apart from the talks with Lavrov, Son will hold meetings with leaders of Russian state agencies, as well as the Vietnamese community living and working in Russia, Khoi said.

Commenting on possible high-ranking visits, the diplomat noted that though the pandemic had complicated exchanges between the countries, high-level dialogues were still maintained regularly, through phone calls and letters.

"Most recently, on September 16, 2021, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and President Vladimir Putin had a very effective and substantive dialogue to further deepen the two countries' relations in all fields such as politics, economy, trade, investment, security, defense, culture, education," he added.

Vietnam and Russia celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, as well as the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2021. The next year will mark a decade since the bilateral relationship was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.