Vietnam News Today (Jun. 19): President Putin’s Vietnam Visit to Further Deepen Bilateral Relations
	Vietnam News Today (Jun. 20): Russian President Vladimir Putin Starts State Visit to Vietnam

At the talks between Vietnamese President To Lam and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Hanoi on June 20. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese, Russian Presidents hold talks in Hanoi

Vietnamese President To Lam and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held talks following a state-level welcome ceremony for the latter in Hanoi on June 20.

President Lam emphasized the significance of the visit, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Principles of Friendly Relations between the two nations (1994-2024). He also congratulated the Russian people on their achievements under President Putin's leadership and the Russian President on the high support he obtained in the March presidential election.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese people always appreciated the heartfelt support and assistance from the Russian people during Vietnam’s past struggle for national independence and reunification, as well as the current process of national construction and defense.

The leader stressed that by implementing a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, and cooperation, Vietnam regards Russia as one of its most important partners and wants to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations for the benefit of their people and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

President Putin expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam for the fifth time and stated that Russia values its traditional friendship and multifaceted collaboration with Vietnam in its “look east” policy.

He stressed that strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam is Russia's top priority in the Asia-Pacific region and hoped his current visit would enhance the ties and the two countries’ win-win multifaceted cooperation.

Expressing his satisfaction with sound political relations and high mutual trust between Vietnam and Russia, both leaders noted that recent exchanges of delegations at all levels, particularly high-level ones, have boosted bilateral cooperation.

They agreed to enhance political dialogues and exchanges at all levels, especially high-level and top-level, through the Party, State, and National Assembly channels, and to educate younger generations about the traditional friendship to continuously fortify political trust and create a foundation conducive to increasing bilateral cooperation across all fields.

The leaders also praised the active partnership in education, culture, science, and technology. To further mutual understanding and friendship, they agreed to enhance collaboration between the nations’ twinned localities, increase youth exchanges, and expand aviation cooperation to promote tourism. Regarding the education area, President Putin agreed with the host leader's proposal to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students, particularly in basic sciences and cultural arts, which are Russia's strengths.

The two sides concurred to facilitate tourism by negotiating and signing agreements to simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese citizens and to promote labor cooperation by negotiating and signing agreements on vocational training and labor, cited VNA.

They expressed their desire to enhance cooperation in national defense security, especially in addressing non-traditional security challenges and coordinating closely at defense-security multilateral forums, especially ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ), all in accordance with international principles and regulations.

President Lam affirmed Vietnam's willingness to act as a bridge between Russia and ASEAN, contributing positively and responsibly to ensuring peace, stability, and development in the Asia-Pacific and the world.

On global and regional issues of shared concern, both leaders supported the establishment of a democratic, fair international relations system based on international law and the United Nations Charter, especially not using force or threatening to use force, non-interference in internal affairs, and peaceful settlement of disputes. They committed to close coordination at multilateral forums, particularly the UN and APEC, and within the ASEAN-Russia, ASEAN-Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and ASEAN-Eurasian Economic Union frameworks. Additionally, they voiced support for ASEAN's central role in the regional architecture of the Asia-Pacific and agreed to further strengthen the ASEAN-Russia strategic partnership for the benefit of both nations and for global and regional peace, stability and development.

President Putin affirmed Russia’s support for Vietnam in successfully hosting the APEC Year 2027.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides supported ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, not using force or threatening to use force, and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They also expressed support for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early finalization of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

About the conflict in Ukraine, President Lam reaffirmed Vietnam's stance on supporting the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law and the UN Charter, taking into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved.

Vietnam is willing to join international mediation efforts with the participation of relevant stakeholders to seek a sustainable peaceful solution to the Ukraine issue, he said.

The talks concluded with both sides expressing joy at the upcoming celebrations of significant milestones in their bilateral relations, especially the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s national reunification.

President Putin extended his invitation to President Lam to attend the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism in Russia’s Great Patriotic War. The Vietnamese leader accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Finally, the two Presidents witnessed the exchange of several bilateral cooperation documents in various fields, including education-training, transport, justice, customs, finance and science-technology.

Petrol prices up in latest adjustment

The northern region is set to enjoy a temporary break from the heatwave amid rainy conditions next week, according to Nguyen Van Huong, head of the Weather Forecasting Department at the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

However, he noted that the heatwave will last until the end of the week, serving to drive temperatures in Hanoi up to 39 degrees Celsius.

Starting from next week, spells of rainfall will come and the heat wave is likely to gradually decrease, according to VOV.

Heatwave in Hanoi will last until the end of the week.

The highest temperatures in the north will therefore range between 36 and 39 degrees, while in the northern central region from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien Hue temperatures will likely reach over 39 degrees. The lowest relative humidity is estimated to be at 40% to 45%.

Temperatures in southern Vietnam and the Central Highlands regions will range from 35 to 38 degrees Celsius, with the lowest relative humidity between 50% and 60%. These places will see rain as the evening approaches.

Huong warned that the combination of heat coupled with low humidity increases the risk of fires and explosions occurring in residential areas due to the heightened demand for electricity and the potential for forest fires. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can also cause issues such as dehydration, exhaustion, and heat stroke.

Vietnam, RoK step up cooperation in climate change response

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh and Deputy Minister of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Environment Hyoeun Jenny Kim co-chaired the first meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Joint Working Group on Climate Change Cooperation on June 20.

The virtual meeting came after both countries pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021.

Thanh highlighted Vietnam’s National Climate Change Strategy (2021-2030) with a vision to 2050, which outlines measures for adaptation and mitigation. He pointed to numerous international agreements, including the 2021 Framework Agreement with the RoK as crucial steps in tackling climate change, VNA reported.

At the meeting (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn)

Vietnam’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2022 commits to a 15.8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, he said, adding that the country is planning a pilot domestic carbon market in 2025, with full operation targeted for 2028.

Looking ahead to COP29, Vietnam hopes for clearer guidelines on climate finance goals and the establishment of rules for bilateral cooperation on carbon credit exchanges under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6, he said.

He expressed Vietnam’s desire to learn from the RoK's experience in developing its domestic carbon market and facilitating international carbon credit exchange, particularly for bilateral agreements.

Kim, for her part, highlighted the active participation of both sides in implementing the Framework Agreement, with the potential for further collaboration, especially on carbon markets.

Representatives from Vietnamese ministries presented proposals to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field.

The Korean side also proposed projects on greenhouse gas reduction, including initiatives in non-fired brick production, rooftop solar power, and biomass fuel use in industrial boilers, among others.

Petrol prices up in latest adjustment

Retail prices of petrol were revised up from 3 p.m. on June 20 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Finance.

Accordingly, the retail price of E5RON92 rose by VND198 to 21,508 (US$0.87) per liter, while that of RON95-III went up by VND231 to VND22,466 per liter.

The prices of diesel and kerosene are now priced at VND20,360 per liter, VND20,356 per liter, up VND720 and VND497, respectively, and that of mazut oil rose by VND334 to VND17,223 per kilogram.

In this price adjustment, the two ministries decided not to use the petrol and oil price stabilization fund, cited VOV.

Petrol prices are revised up in latest adjustment.

Since the beginning of this year, petrol prices have undergone 25 adjustments, with 10 times up, 7 down, and 7 mixed changes.

Vietnam should support aggregate demand through capital expenditures: WB

The World Bank (WB) recommended Vietnam should continue supporting aggregate demand through capital expenditures.

In its report Vietnam macro monitoring released on June 19, the WB noted that external demand is showing signs of recovery and Vietnam's authorities have taken some measures to support the economy.

According to the WB, the Index of Industrial production (IIP) increased by 2.6 percent against the previous month in May. This improvement was driven by strong growth in manufacturing sectors such as machinery and equipment (9.8 percent) and computer and electrical products

Exports of goods increased by 6.5 percent from a contraction in April, driven by high-tech products. In parallel, imports recovered, growing by 9.5 percent in May, reported VGP.

Photo: VGP

Compared with the same period in 2023, both exports and imports registered sizable growth rates of 15.8 percent and 29.9 percent in May, respectively.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) commitment reached US$11.07 billion at the end of May 2023, 2 percent higher than the same period of last year.

Cumulative FDI disbursement improved, registered US$8.3 billion, 7.8 percent higher than the same period in 2023. A majority of FDI continued to flow into manufacturing and real estate sectors.

Remarkably, budget revenue improved in May, reaching VND 898.4 trillion (52.8 percent of planned revenues) and leading to an increase of 14.8 percent in the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period of last year, the WB highlighted.

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