Viet Nam enhances relations with traditional partners in new era

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee To Lam, his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, and a high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam are paying state visits to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, an official visit to Russia where he will attend the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Great Patriotic War, and then a state visit to Belarus. The visits from May 5 to 12 are made at the invitation of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The visits convey a strong message of Viet Nam’s respect, sincere affection, and loyalty to its traditional friends — former Soviet Union countries — in recognition of their heartfelt support and assistance during Viet Nam’s struggles for national defence and development. The visit took place in the context of peace, cooperation and development remaining the dominant trend despite the rapid and turning point changes in the world situation. The Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions are increasingly important in the foreign policies of countries around the world, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus.

This is General Secretary To Lam’s first state visit to Kazakhstan and the highest-level visit by a key Vietnamese leader to Kazakhstan in the past 13 years — the first ever at the level of General Secretary.

For Azerbaijan, this is the first time the country has welcomed a Party leader from Viet Nam since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1992, and the first top-level exchange between the two countries in a decade.

This is also General Secretary To Lam’s first visit to Belarus in his current position, and the first visit by a Vietnamese Party General Secretary to Belarus in 11 years.

This is Party chief To Lam’s first official visit to the Russian Federation in his current role and the first such visit by a Vietnamese Party General Secretary in seven years. The visit affirms the importance of the long-standing friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia, which remains one of the top priorities in Viet Nam’s foreign policy. It also demonstrates Viet Nam's deep appreciation for the great contributions and sacrifices of the former Soviet Union in the victory over fascism, ending World War II, and steadfastly defending global peace.

New impetus for Viet Nam-Kazakhstan relations

Viet Nam and Kazakhstan have many similarities in history and culture, and have both experienced many hardships in the process of fighting to protect the country. The Vietnamese people always remember and cherish the sentiments, support and valuable assistance that the Kazakh people have given to Viet Nam in the past fight for national liberation and in the current national construction. The two countries are making efforts to foster a strong and sustainable friendship, for the prosperity of each country, for the interests and happiness of the people of the two countries.

After more than 30 years since Viet Nam and Kazakhstan officially established diplomatic relations, the time-honoured friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries have developed positively. In political and diplomatic affairs, the two sides have maintained regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts, while coordinating closely at multilateral forums and international organisations, especially at the United Nations. Kazakhstan has affirmed its view of Viet Nam as an important partner in Southeast Asia. The Communist Party of Viet Nam maintains relations with Kazakhstan’s ruling Amanat Party and the People’s Party of Kazakhstan. Both sides are working towards upgrading their bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership.

Bilateral economic, trade, and investment relations have continued to grow positively. The two-way trade reached 800 million USD in 2024, marking a 99% increase compared to the previous year. Kazakhstan currently has six FDI projects in Viet Nam, with a total registered capital of over 500,000 USD. Meanwhile, two instant noodle manufacturing businesses owned by Vietnamese nationals are operating in Kazakhstan. The two sides continue to maintain the intergovernmental committee mechanism on economics, trade, and scientific-technical cooperation.

Cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, education and training, transport, energy, local partnerships, and people-to-people exchanges has been maintained and strengthened. The two countries inaugurated their first official direct flight route in November 2022 and have since continued to expand air links connecting their key tourist cities. The number of Kazakhstani tourists visiting Viet Nam has risen sharply in recent times. The Vietnamese community in Kazakhstan numbers around 50 people, primarily residing in the former capital, Almaty.

Through Kazakhstan, Viet Nam has the opportunity to further promote cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and explore economic and transport partnerships in Central Asia, thus gaining better access to the European market.

Kazakhstan hopes Viet Nam will support the enhancement of Kazakhstan–ASEAN cooperation, and in return, Kazakhstan is ready to serve as a bridge connecting Viet Nam with countries in Central Asia.

At the political consultation held in March 2025, co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister A. Bakayev, both sides affirmed the need to further promote delegation exchanges and regular meetings between the two countries' leaders across party, state, and parliamentary channels, particularly at the high level.

Acknowledging the positive momentum of bilateral trade in recent years, Deputy Ministers Le Thi Thu Hang and A. Bakayev noted that the current trade volume remains modest compared to the potential and aspirations of both sides — especially considering that the two countries’ imports and exports are not in direct competition but rather complementary and capable of enriching each other’s markets. Both sides agreed to continue working closely to encourage relevant ministries and sectors to fully leverage the advantages and incentives of the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the EEU, of which Kazakhstan is a member. They also agreed to make use of multimodal transport corridors and routes to increase bilateral trade volume in the near future.

This state visit by General Secretary To Lam is a historic milestone, deepening and comprehensively developing the relationship between our two countries across all areas. Viet Nam–Kazakhstan bilateral ties will be elevated to new heights, in line with the shared interests of both nations...

During the upcoming visit, we will witness the signing of numerous important documents on bilateral cooperation, enhancing cooperation in national defence, security, and justice; connectivity in economics, trade, investment, and finance; as well as science, technology, digital transformation, energy and mining, culture, sports, and tourism. Local-level partnerships and people-to-people exchanges will also be further strengthened.

Viet Nam–Azerbaijan: Distant Yet Close

Viet Nam and Azerbaijan share a long-standing traditional friendship that transcends geographical distance. The foundation of this friendship was laid during the former Soviet era, marked by President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Azerbaijan in 1959 and Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev’s visit to Viet Nam in 1983.

From the years when Viet Nam was still engulfed in war to the country's eventual reunification and post-war reconstruction, Azerbaijan stood as a devoted friend, offering wholehearted support to Viet Nam. The country made significant contributions to Viet Nam’s oil and gas industry and played a crucial role in training many of Viet Nam’s outstanding professionals and technical experts.

A new chapter in bilateral ties began when Azerbaijan declared independence from the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. In 1992, Viet Nam and Azerbaijan officially established diplomatic relations. Since then, the two countries have maintained regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts and have closely coordinated at multilateral forums and international organisations such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. The Communist Party of Viet Nam also maintains strong ties with Azerbaijan's ruling party.

After more than three decades of development, the traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Azerbaijan is opening vast opportunities for cooperation, particularly in the fields of economics, trade, and investment. Bilateral trade turnover reached nearly 52 million USD in 2024. The two countries have established an Intergovernmental Committee for Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

Although cooperation in defence, science and technology, education and training, as well as culture and tourism remains modest, it holds great potential for further development. The two countries have a long-standing tradition and experience in training professionals in the oil and gas sector. They are currently considering launching direct flights between major tourist cities and establishing a direct cargo air route. Local-level cooperation between Ha Giang Province and the Kalbajar region is also being actively promoted.

There remains considerable room for enhanced cooperation. Viet Nam and Azerbaijan could expand their trade markets, and make breakthroughs in oil and gas collaboration as well as strengthen workforce training in this vital industry.

Although geographically distant, Azerbaijan and Viet Nam share a longstanding traditional friendship, nurtured over generations, with enormous potential for cooperation across various sectors.

Preserving Viet Nam–Russia ties — A shared and treasured legacy

Looking back at over 70 years of relations between Viet Nam and the former Soviet Union, and now the Russian Federation, one sees a time-tested and ever-deepening partnership across a wide range of areas — from politics and diplomacy to trade, culture, society, science, and technology. The traditional friendship has remained warm and resilient through the years. The Vietnamese people are always grateful for the sincere and meaningful support extended by the Russian people — formerly part of the former Soviet Union — during Viet Nam's struggle for national liberation and subsequent reconstruction.

In political and diplomatic terms, the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries have been strongly promoted through dynamic exchanges of delegations and high-level engagements, especially at the highest levels. The Communist Party of Viet Nam maintains close ties with key political parties in Russia, including United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and A Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth. The two countries also continue to coordinate closely on the international stage, sharing similar stances on many global and regional issues. In 2025, Viet Nam and Russia will celebrate their 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties with many meaningful events and activities.