Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

Among guests at the event there were representatives from Russian ministries of foreign affairs, defence, and economic development, Russia – Vietnam friendship associations, the Russian Academy of Science, local universities, and embassies of ASEAN member states in Russia.

Delivering a speech, Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh said Vietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership made significant progress last year, with political trust enhanced via high-level delegation exchanges, citing as examples the official visit by Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and trips to Vietnam by Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin.

Bilateral ties thrived in all fields from economy and defence-security to education and humanities cooperation, he said, adding that two-way trade exceeded 5.5 billion USD, an annual increase of 30 percent.

The diplomat expressed his belief that the partnership will further grow and deepen with efforts made by both countries, highlighting that hundreds of activities have been planned to celebrate the 69th anniversary of their diplomatic relations as well as the Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam this year.

Nicolai Nozdrev, Director of the Third Asian Department under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, showed his delight at the development of the ties, which he believes will reap more success in 2019.

Earlier, on January 29, a Tet gathering was hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine for the expatriate community, filled with greetings, Vietnamese food, and music.

VNF ( VNA )