General trust: Vietnam named Russia as its main strategic choice

Toh Lam's three-day visit to Moscow can already be called historic: for the first time since 1991, the leader of Vietnam, who simultaneously holds the posts of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the country, visited Russia. Having entered a "new era" of technological modernization, Hanoi, despite external pressure, confirmed the strategic nature of relations with Moscow, experts say. At talks in the Kremlin on September 9, Vladimir Putin and Tom stressed the inviolability of the partnership between the two countries, opposed unilateral sanctions and arms supplies to Ukraine. What the leaders agreed on and how Hanoi manages to find a balance between the key world powers is in the Izvestia article.

For some reason, the Lama's visit will go down in history

On September 9, the state visit of the leader of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Toh Lam, who holds the posts of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the country, ended in Moscow. The event is largely historic for Russian-Vietnamese relations: the leader of Vietnam, who simultaneously holds senior party and government posts, visited Moscow for the first time since 1991.

The significance of the visit is reinforced by the moment at which it took place. Toh Lam arrived immediately after the 14th Congress of the Communist Party and the elections to the National Assembly — at the start of the political cycle, which in Vietnam itself is called the "new era".

There is a large-scale transformation program behind this formula. The country intends to accelerate technological modernization and transition to a digital economy, develop its own fundamental science, space industry and sovereign energy, including nuclear energy. The goals are no less ambitious: Vietnam expects to become a developed industrial power by 2030, and a high-income state by 2045. Hanoi considers Russia as a fundamental partner.

The dialogue between Moscow and Hanoi at the highest level has remained intense in recent years. In May 2025, To Lam came to the Russian capital for the celebrations on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and attended the parade on Red Square. But the current three-day visit stood out primarily because of the scale of the program.

In Moscow, To Lam held talks with almost all the top political leadership of the Russian Federation, and also attended the Russian-Vietnamese scientific and technological forum. There, the Vietnamese leader was presented with an unusual gift — an exclusive Gzhel set with marmite, hand-painted by craftsmen.

The final point of the visit was the presentation of the Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize to Lamu. The ceremony symbolically concluded the eventful program of the visit, which combined political negotiations, the scientific and technological agenda and symbolic diplomacy, traditional for relations between Moscow and Hanoi.

Negotiations in the Kremlin: what Putin agreed with Lam

Vladimir Putin greeted the high-ranking guest with the words "dear comrade" and recalled the deep historical roots of relations between the two countries. Toh Lam responded no less warmly, calling the Russian leader "a great friend and close brother of the Vietnamese people."

— Over the years of independence and full sovereignty, Vietnam has achieved impressive results under the leadership of your party, under the leadership of the governing and governing teams of Vietnam. And in this regard, I would like to say that this means that the people who fought for Vietnam, fought for its independence, for its sovereignty, did not do it in vain, and the sacrifices were not in vain," the Russian leader said.

Hanoi, in turn, emphasizes the special value of relations with Moscow. Speaking about the pressure from third countries, Lam noted that the country "did not show hesitation and did not change its position."

"Vietnam always attaches great importance to the development of relations with Russia and considers them a priority, which is a consistent course and the main strategic choice in our entire foreign policy,— Toh Lam snapped.

Political statements have also been documented. The negotiations resulted in a 50-point Joint Statement defining the principles of a comprehensive strategic partnership. In it, Moscow and Hanoi opposed unilateral illegitimate sanctions, called for an end to the supply of weapons to the war zone and expressed concern about the deaths of civilians during the Ukrainian conflict.

There is also a strong economic base behind the political partnership. In the first half of the year, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by almost 14%. At the same time, the leaders acknowledged that the current trade volumes still do not match the real potential. Vietnam's trade turnover with Russia, at about $5 billion, is noticeably lower than that with the United States ($150 billion) and China ($250 billion). Toh Lam is convinced that by 2030, Moscow and Hanoi should increase mutual trade to $15 billion.

The fuel and energy complex remains one of the main drivers of growth. It is based on long—term joint projects: Vietsovpetro produced more than 250 million tons of oil in Vietnam, and PetroVietnam produced more than 40 million tons in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Cooperation with Gazprom is also expanding, and NOVATEK may start supplying LNG to Vietnam in 2027.

During the negotiations, the parties outlined new areas of energy partnership. Moscow has offered Hanoi to create a strategic fuel reserve and establish transit of Russian energy resources to neighboring countries in the region. Separate agreements relate to the division of products in a number of areas of the Vietnamese offshore shelf, the formation of a strategic oil reserve in the Zung Khuat area and joint geological exploration. The March agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant and a Nuclear Science and Technology Center also opens up new opportunities.

However, cooperation is far from limited to energy. During the talks, the leaders opened a new laboratory of infectious diseases in Hanoi on the basis of the Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Center via video link. The complex has become the most powerful biosafety facility in Southeast Asia. The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, noted that the project lays the foundation for Vietnam's "biological sovereignty," after which Vladimir Putin personally gave the command: "Allow!"

Another rapidly growing area is tourism. In the first half of the year alone, 800,000 Russians visited Vietnam. Against the background of the visa-free regime in force for Russians, Moscow is preparing a retaliatory step: Vladimir Putin announced work on the early abolition of visas for citizens of the republic.

The meetings ended with an invitation to continue the dialogue in Vietnam. Toh Lam invited Vladimir Putin to pay a visit to the country, as well as to participate in the APEC summit, which will be held on the island of Phu Quoc in November 2027.

Bamboo Diplomacy and the Paris vector

Moscow has become a key, but not the only point of the Vietnamese leader's European tour. From the Russian capital, To Lam, along with his wife Ngo Phuong Lee and a delegation, went to France to attend the Space Summit in Paris and talks with Emmanuel Macron. Against the background of current relations between Russia and Europe, such a route may seem unusual. However, it fits perfectly into Hanoi's foreign policy strategy.

For decades, Vietnam has adhered to the "four no's" principle. One of its key elements is the refusal to form alliances with one country against another. Following this logic, Hanoi has built a comprehensive strategic partnership with all five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Russia, China, the United States, France and the United Kingdom. Vietnam's relations with India, Japan, South Korea and Australia have a similar status.

— The logic is simple: the more partners of the same weight, the less dependence on each. This is their "bamboo diplomacy," says political analyst Tatiana Kosacheva.

Therefore, Toh Lam's trip to Paris immediately after Moscow should not be considered as a sign of competition between Russia and France for influence in Vietnam. Rather, we are talking about Hanoi's traditional policy of balancing between key centers of power, Alexander Korolev, Deputy director of the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics, explained to Izvestia.

Moreover, Moscow and Paris occupy different niches in the Vietnamese economy and technological development. France offers cooperation in civil aviation, green energy and infrastructure. Russia is focused on areas of critical importance to Vietnam's sovereignty: the supply and joint production of hydrocarbons, the modernization and equipping of the Air Force, air defense and Navy, as well as major projects in the field of nuclear energy and biosafety.