Hanoi and St. Petersburg could further strengthen cooperation and exchange experience in urban management, culture, and education, Vice Chairman of the Legislative Council of St. Petersburg Nikolai Bondarenko stressed the view during a meeting with Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Council Phung Thi Hong Ha on September 26.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: The Hanoi Times

According to Bondarenko, St. Petersburg remains one of Russia’s major scientific and education hubs with famous universities, and he hopes to discuss with Hanoi on education cooperation, including student exchange.

He also called for both sides to deepen cooperation between the city-level agencies and district levels.

Bondarenko added the city plans to inaugurate the Ho Chi Minh statue on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Uncle Ho’s first arrival in Russia.

Russia currently has a large Vietnamese community residing in the country, adding they are an indispensable part of people-to-people diplomacy between Vietnam and Russia.

Therefore, he added that the building of Uncle Ho’s statue would be significant and further contribute to the firm and multifaceted bilateral relations.

Bondarenko also suggested both legislative bodies sign a memorandum of cooperation in potential fields, especially in urban, cultural, and education.

Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Council Phung Thi Hong Ha highlighted the long-standing Vietnam-Russia relations, saying the visit of St.Petersburg’s delegation to Vietnam would open up new cooperation opportunities between the two cities to contribute to bilateral ties.

Ha noted the municipal People’s Council consists of 95 deputies in 30 groups, representing 30 districts across the city.

In addition to the policy-making process, the People’s Council is also responsible for supervising the law implementation in state agencies, Ha added.

Ha welcomed Bondarenko’s proposal for establishing a cooperation agreement between the two legislative bodies, expecting such a move would bolster the Hanoi-St. Petersburg relations in general, and that of the Hanoi People’s Council and the St.Petersburg Legislative Council in particular.

Ha assigned the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs to be a focal point in working with its counterpart in St.Petersburg in drafting the memorandum of cooperation, suggesting the signing of the document in 2023.