Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Visits Vietnam

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi on 6 July (Photo: Giang Huy)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi on 6 July (Photo: Giang Huy)

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, visited Vietnam on Wednesday on his way to Bali for a G-20 meeting.

While in Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Lavrov sought to bolster ties between the two nations.

Russia and Vietnam have enjoyed diplomatic ties dating back to the Soviet Union in 1950, as well as celebrating the ten-year anniversary of a strategic partnership signed between Vietnam and the Russian Federation.

But Vietnam has begun increasingly tightening its relationship with the United States in recent years.

Lavrov made a point of visiting key Asian allies before the G-20 meeting, making a trip to Mongolia on Tuesday, in order to shore up support as his country faces mounting pressure from Western nations over the War in Ukraine.

In Hanoi, speaking to his Vietnamese counterpart through a translator, the Russian Foreign Minister called on all parties in the world to make efforts to protect international laws as “the world is evolving in a complicated manner.”

“Vietnam is a key partner (of Russia) in ASEAN…and the two countries’ relations are based on history and their common fight for justice,” Lavrov said at the meeting, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

In 2018, bilateral trade between Russia and Vietnam was worth USD 7.1 billion, a 25 percent increase from 2020. Russia’s total investment across 151 projects in Vietnam exceeds USD 950 million.

Sergey Lavrov made a visit to Laos in July last year.