The friendship between Vietnam and Russia continues to be consolidated through education and training activities between Binh Duong University and St. Petersburg

The one who established and laid the foundation for the good relationship between Vietnam and Russia was leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh.

President Ho Chi Minh, the one who established and laid the foundation for the good relationship between Vietnam and Russia Nga (Documentary photo)

On March 10, 1952, President Ho Chi Minh wrote a letter of citizenship and appointed Mr. Nguyen Luong Bang as Vietnam's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union. In July, 1955, after the North was completely liberated and moving forward to build socialism, President Ho Chi Minh led the Government delegation to visit the Soviet Union to consolidate the friendship and strengthen solidarity, as well as economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

During the most difficult years of the struggle for national independence, Vietnam received constant support from the warm affections and the generous and sincere help of the Soviet people. Not only helping with funding, but with kind, Soviet experts who came in person to help Vietnam develop its economy, culture and society. Many of these works of the Soviet Union have become a part of the lives of generations of Vietnamese people, and still have positive effects on us today (eg. Polytechnic University, Vietnam - Soviet Friendship Hospital). Tens of thousands of Vietnamese cadres trained in the Soviet Union have become key officials and experts in many fields.

After 1991, the multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between Vietnam and the Russian Federation continued to be valued and developed. A series of events represent a new development in the relations of the two countries. In 1994, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet paid an official visit to Russia. At the 1998 visit of President Tran Duc Luong, for the first time, Russian President Boris Yeltsin affirmed: “Russia considers Vietnam a strategic partner in Southeast Asia.”

The relationship between Vietnam and Russia in the 21st century was formalized by the signing of the Joint Declaration of the Strategic Partnership on the occasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Vietnam (February 28th to March 2nd, 2001). Vietnam and the Russian Federation have signed more than 30 State and Government documents, a massive legal basis for the development of cooperation and friendship between the two countries in the new period. In July, 2012, President Truong Tan Sang's visit to Russia created a new impetus for Vietnam-Russia relations to develop in all fields.

President Tran Dại Quang and the delegation heads of the APEC member economies (Photo: VNA)

In just three years (2017 – 2019), the two countries conducted 7 mutual visits at the highest level: President Tran Dai Quang visited Russia in June, 2017; President V. Putin attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference in Vietnam in 2017 and had a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the Conference; General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visited Russia (September, 2018); Prime Minister D. Medvedev visited Vietnam (November 2018); President of the Russian State Duma V. Volodin visited Vietnam in December, 2018 (within the framework of this visit, the two countries established an inter-parliamentary committee between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the State Duma of Russia); Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited Russia in May, 2019; Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan visited Russia for the first time as Chairwoman of the National Assembly (December, 2019).

State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem witness the signing ceremony of the cooperation program between Binh Duong University and Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University 

In the fields of culture and education, the highlight of the effective cooperation between Vietnam and Russia is the visit to St. Petersburg by President Nguyen Minh Triet and his wife with the State Delegation of Vietnam in 2008. During this visit, President Nguyen Minh Triet witnessed the signing ceremony of the Cooperative Agreement between St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) and Binh Duong University (BDU). The President emphasized that education and training are topics that were mentioned very seriously in the meeting between the President Nguyen Minh Triet and Russian President D.Medvedev. The President wished St. Petersburg a most effective cooperation with Binh Duong University, with expanded research and cooperation with other Vietnamese universities and the opening of a training branch in Vietnam.

Continuing the traditional relationship of Binh Duong University with St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, during a visit lasting nearly 1 week at SpbPU, from December 13th to 21st, 2017, Dr. Cao Viet Hieu - President of Binh Duong University, through meetings and conversations between leaders of the two universities, agreed to continue to develop and promote scientific research programs in the field of nanotechnology, and in the fields of science and technology, economics, business administration, information technology, energy, and more.

Dr. Cao Viet Hieu and His Excellency, A. I. Rudskoi - Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rector of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University met and agreed on the direction of cooperation between the two units at the 120th anniversary of the establishment of Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University

The friendship between Vietnam and Russia is cultivated not only in the harmony of soul and emotion but also in strength, resilience, skill, and the will to overcome difficulties and challenges to move forward. With 70 years of friendship between Vietnam and Russia, 15 years of cooperation between Binh Duong University and St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, we believe that there will be many more good accomplishments come from the cooperation of the two units in the future./.