Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister, Co-Chair of the Russian-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Governor of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,
I am delighted to hold a bilateral meeting with you on the sidelines of these celebrations. First of all, I would like to congratulate you and the people of Vietnam on the 80th anniversary of the declaration of Vietnam’s independence, which you marked yesterday.
This year, we marked 75 years of diplomatic relations between our countries. Over these years, special relations of alliance and fraternal mutual assistance have developed between Vietnam and Russia. It is difficult to list all the spheres of our cooperation, which has been growing stronger in the past few years.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet with you and to discuss all areas of our cooperation. Of course, I also have fond memories of the warm welcome that was extended to our delegation during our latest visit to Vietnam.
Thank you.
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong (retranslated): Mr President,
I am delighted to be meeting with you in Beijing today on the occasion of a special landmark event.
I am also grateful to you for the warm feelings and greetings to the party, state and people of Vietnam on the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day of Vietnam. Thank you for sending Russian troops to take part in the parade in Vietnam.
Everyone in Vietnam values highly the substantial fraternal assistance which the Soviet Union extended to us when we were fighting for our freedom and which Russia is providing to us now as we build our country.
We consistently attach great importance to our traditionally friendly relations with Russia – these are brotherly, time-honoured relations.
I would like to congratulate you, on behalf of the party and the state of Vietnam, on the great achievements Russia has made over the past period. You have overcome numerous difficulties.
We believe that under your guidance Russia will become great and will be a mainstay in defending peace, justice and stability. We believe that this will be so, and we wish you success.
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