Spring of Mau Tuat - Spring of hope for Russia - Vietnam relations

Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh and Ms. Vorobyeva Lyudmila, Director of the Third Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry at the Tet reception in Moscow.

The new Ambassador of Vietnam to Russia as well as to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Mr. Ngo Duc Manh, met people who have been attached to Vietnam in the past, present and future. There were many of them present at this reception: diplomats and businessmen, Vietnam War veterans and scientists, journalists and teachers. For them, Vietnam is always a beautiful memory, the warmest emotions. Everyone hopes that friendship, respect, cooperation and mutual assistance - all that has bound the people of our two countries over the years will not be lost but will continue to be multiplied by new generations.

All who know Vietnam admire its modern achievements, rapid development and growing prestige, and are proud to have made a small contribution to them. Like Mr. Nikolay Kolesnik, President of the Interregional Organization of Veterans of the Vietnam War, who wished the Vietnamese people a prosperous new year and a peaceful sky. Like Mrs. Sofia Korchikova, who celebrated her 93rd birthday on February 11, she was the Russian teacher for the first large group of young Vietnamese men and women who came to Moscow in 1954. Later, they became famous throughout the country as scholars and writers, holding high positions in the government, economy and culture.

But for Sophia Korchikova, they are still dear students, and for her, the gray-haired experts are teachers with whom they always maintain close contact. Like Nikolai Balyasnikov - a former teacher of the Russian Federal Police Academy, who has trained dozens of Vietnamese security officers. Two years ago, he and his fellow lecturers visited Vietnam as distinguished guests, meeting former students who are now high-ranking officials in the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. Former Minister and now President of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang once spoke, acknowledging that the Soviet Union and Russia have made significant contributions to the formation of the country's security and order system.

Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh with ASEAN ambassadors at the reception on the occasion of the traditional New Year.

In his first speech to the Russian guests, the new Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Russian Federation Ngo Duc Manh said: "I have inherited from my predecessors the outstanding achievements in developing relations between our two countries. At the political level, there is mutual trust between us. Over the past year, our economic cooperation as well as trade and investment have been raised to new heights. A great example is the launch of a large-scale project by TH "True milk" company, which is expected to develop dairy farming in different Russian provinces in 10 years with a total investment of 2.7 billion USD. This proves that great opportunities have opened up for our two countries thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EAEU".

The Ambassador also noted the successful cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defense and security, the active development of twinning and partnership relations between cities, provinces and territories of Vietnam and Russia, many interesting joint activities in the fields of culture, people-to-people diplomacy, and growth of tourism exchanges.

"Russian scientists are making great contributions to the development of many fields of science and technology in Vietnam, we hope to continue this cooperation," - Ms. Pham Thanh Xuan, Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy for Science and Technology said in an interview with Sputnik.

An example of cooperation in the humanities is the journal of Russian and Vietnamese scholars recently published by the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences, entitled "Culture and Arts of Vietnam". The journal was presented to the Ambassador by Mr. Evgeny Kobelev, a leading expert of the center.

But everyone understands that the results achieved are still far from the real potential of both countries. To exploit that potential, we need to work harder. We need to consult and learn about each other's new realities. And here, Vietnamese scholars must play an important role. This year, the first group of students studying Vietnamese appeared at one of the leading foreign language schools in Russia - Moscow State Linguistic University.

As Vietnamese teacher Elena Zubtsova said, "young people have fallen in love with Vietnam and want to become highly qualified experts about this country."

The school has signed student exchange agreements with three universities in Vietnam. Soon, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will welcome future Russian Vietnamese scholars for internships, and Moscow will welcome young Vietnamese Russian scholars.

Another important contact between the two countries is the Vietnamese people living in Russia.

"We are looking forward to the new spring and hope that the Lunar New Year will bring us all health, stability and progress in work. We hope that the rise of the Russian economy will impact the lives of Vietnamese people in Russia, enhancing the effectiveness of Russia-Vietnam cooperation," said Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Quynh, Secretary of the Association of Vietnamese People in Russia.

Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh expressed the feelings of the vast majority of our compatriots in the following words: "Millions of Vietnamese people have love and affection for Russia, Russian literature and Russian character: both those who have studied in Russia and those who have never had the opportunity to come here. The Vietnamese people will never forget the great and effective assistance that your country has given us during the war years and now in building and developing the country. Our friendship is a valuable asset that we must pass on to future generations. A demonstration of this is that during their talks last year, President Tran Dai Quang and President Vladimir Putin decided to cross-organize the Year of Vietnam in Russia and the Year of Russia in Vietnam in 2019."

Before the year of Russia-Vietnam cross-operation, there is still one year of Mau Tuat. We really hope that this will be a successful year for our two countries and our cooperation. And we promise to make our small contribution to this work.