| At 1:45 AM on June 20, the Il-96-300PU aircraft carrying President Vladimir Putin and his delegation landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, marking the start of his state visit to Vietnam. Photos: Khanh Huy/The Hanoi Times |
| A few minutes later, dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and purple tie, President Putin stepped out of the plane, shook hands with a female Russian flight attendant, and quickly descended the mobile staircase. |
| Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha greeted the Russian President at the airport. |
| President Vladimir Putin has visited Vietnam four times: twice on official visits in 2001 and 2013 and twice for APEC summits in Hanoi and Danang in 2006 and 2017, during which he also met with Vietnamese leaders. |
Around midday, President Putin is scheduled to attend an official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace and hold talks with State President To Lam. He will then meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and have a discussion with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
In the late afternoon, the President will visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before meeting with National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. Alongside State President To Lam, he will meet with leaders of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association and former Vietnamese students who studied in Russia, followed by a state banquet.
Vietnam and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations in 1950. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Russia was recognized as its successor state. In June 1994, Vietnam and Russia signed the "Treaty on the Basic Principles of Friendly Relations between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Russian Federation" (Vietnam-Russia Friendship Treaty) (June 16, 1994 - June 16, 2024). In 2012, the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Russia has nearly 200 projects in Vietnam, with a total investment of nearly $1 billion, ranking 28th out of 145 countries and territories. Vietnam has invested in 18 projects in Russia, totaling $1.63 billion in the fields of oil and gas, agriculture, and manufacturing.
In 2023, Russia offered 1,000 scholarships to Vietnamese students, with approximately 5,000 Vietnamese students currently studying there. The Vietnamese community in Russia numbers around 60,000 people.
