Trade is appropriate: Putin announced the growth of trade with Vietnam

Bilateral relations between Russia and Vietnam are developing positively in all areas: the economy is showing an increase in trade turnover, and an open dialogue is underway in the political sphere. Vladimir Putin said this at a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Le Hoai Chung. Moscow and Hanoi are satisfied with the state of bilateral relations. The structure of trade remains traditional: Vietnam supplies seafood, coffee, textiles and footwear to Russia, while Russia supplies fertilizers, coal, oil and petroleum products. At the same time, energy is especially important for Hanoi, so the Ninh Thuan-1 NPP project is the main area of cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnam's Foreign Minister's visit to Russia

Vladimir Putin devoted the evening of February 24 to the international agenda. He received Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung in the Kremlin, who arrived in Moscow as a special envoy of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Republic, To Lam. Before the start of the negotiations, the Russian President congratulated Vietnam on the traditional holiday called "Tet". This is the Lunar New Year — this time it came to Vietnam on February 17th. The celebration lasts for several days and represents the renewal of nature, the beginning of spring and family unity.

Le Hoai Chung arrived in the Russian capital to personally inform Vladimir Putin about the results of the XIV party Congress, which ended in Hanoi on January 23. The delegates unanimously re-elected To Lam for a new five-year term. By the way, the Russian president was the first person the Secretary General called after his election. At the meeting, Le Hoai Chung conveyed warm greetings to Vladimir Putin from To Lam.

— This is the first time that the Politburo, Comrade General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, has sent a special envoy to the Russian Federation to inform about the outcome of the Fourteenth Congress. This shows special attention to our traditionally friendly, close relations, as well as relations between our parties, states and personally between the leaders of our countries," said the special envoy of the Vietnamese leader.

We were glad to welcome the Vietnamese Foreign Minister in Moscow. A rich program awaited the guest in the capital. Immediately after the talks with President Le Hoai, Chung met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Prior to that, he discussed cooperation with the Vietnamese Communist Party with the chairman of United Russia, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. At the meeting in the Kremlin, both sides spoke about the positive development of relations between Moscow and Hanoi, as well as great prospects for cooperation.

"Our bilateral relations are developing positively, trade is growing, and we have a meaningful and open dialogue in all areas, including the political component," Vladimir Putin said.

Le Hoai Trung noted that Vietnam considers relations with Russia to be strategic and have a long-term perspective.

What Russia and Vietnam could discuss behind closed doors

Today, the political dialogue between the two countries is based on regular contacts at all levels. In June 2024, Vladimir Putin arrived in Vietnam on a state visit. In January 2025, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited the republic. Activity was also evident on multilateral platforms: in October 2024, the leaders met at the BRICS summit, at the same time, the chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, Tran Thanh Man, visited Russia.

Hanoi is one of Moscow's main partners in the Asia-Pacific region, Peter Tsvetov, deputy chairman of the Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Society, told Izvestia.

— If Russia wants to have a strong position in the Asia—Pacific region, it should develop ties with Vietnam - be friends with it and sometimes use it to resolve some issues with other countries. For example, within the framework of ASEAN," the expert explained.

The bilateral trade turnover between Russia and Vietnam remains stable. By the end of 2025, it amounted to about $4.8 billion. Statistics for the period from January to November recorded the trade balance: Russian exports amounted to $2.24 billion, imports — $2.06 billion.

The structure of trade remains traditional and complementary: Vietnam supplies seafood, coffee, textiles and footwear, as well as electronics to Russia. Russia, in turn, exports critically important resources: fertilizers, coal, oil and petroleum products, non-ferrous metals, equipment and machinery.

However, calculations and logistics are still a factor that complicates the interaction. Nevertheless, against the background of sanctions, the parties have found a joint solution: companies in the two countries are increasingly using transactions in rubles and dong. The role of a key infrastructure "bridge" in this scheme is played by a joint Vietnamese-Russian joint bank (VRB).

Energy is particularly important for Vietnam in the entire trade structure, Tsvetov stressed. The January Congress of the Communist Party of the country set ambitious goals for the development of the economy — an annual GDP growth of 10% or more is expected. It is impossible to ensure such a breakthrough without powerful generation. Against this background, the main area of cooperation between the two countries is the Ninh Thuan-1 NPP project, which is being implemented by Rosatom.

The history of this project has its ups and downs: the Vietnamese parliament approved it back in 2009, but in 2016 the National Assembly suspended the nuclear program, and the construction was actually "frozen". The discussion officially returned only at the end of 2024. Already in September 2025, Rosatom signed an agreement to update the feasibility study and the site's dossier, including infrastructure and training issues.

— Russia's authority in the construction of nuclear power plants, including safety issues, is very high. Plus, we have common groundwork, and there are specialists from Vietnam who studied with us in this field. They understand how to operate and build Soviet-Russian type stations. This is an important reason why they turn to us," said Tsvetov.

It is significant that a parallel project, the construction of the second Vietnamese nuclear power plant Ninh Thuan-2, for which Japan was supposed to be responsible, reached an impasse. Tokyo withdrew from the project, citing too short a deadline. After that, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Thien instructed the agencies to find a new partner to replace the Japanese side and at the same time accelerate negotiations on the "Russian" station, which is now becoming an absolute priority of Hanoi's energy strategy.