People-to-people Diplomacy: Key to Viet Nam-Belarus Cooperation

Belarusian Ambassador to Viet Nam said that in recent times, many joint projects in the fields of culture, science, and education have been implemented to promote people-to-people relationship between the two countries such as Culture Day and Education Day of Belarus in Viet Nam , cooperation project between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus and the Ministry of Public Security of Viet Nam , visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders between Viet Nam and Belarus.

In 2024 there will also be many cooperation and engagement activities between friendship associations and youth organizations of the two countries.
Recently, on May 8, 2024, in Dien Bien Phu city, a ceremony to give and receive jars containing soil took place between Memorial complex "Brest Hero Fortress" and Dien Bien Phu Museum.

The sacred soil of Brest Fortress, soaked in the blood and bones of heroic martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the Fatherland, is now present in Viet Nam . The giving ceremony took place when Belarus celebrated 80 years of liberation from the Nazi and Viet Nam celebrated 70 years of victory over the French army at Dien Bien Phu.
 

This demonstrates the love for peace of the people of our two countries, their courage, resilience, and heroism in the just resistance wars for independence.

The Ambassador believes that this will make an important contribution to preserving the truth about the glorious victory of the Belarusian people and the Vietnamese people, contributing to further strengthening the friendship, trust and mutual understanding between our two countries.
 

n what main fields and areas are people-to-people relations between the two countries currently deployed?

Belarus determines that the priority in bilateral cooperation with Viet Nam is to develop trade relations. In 2023, trade turnover between Belarus and Viet Nam reached about US$250 million, the highest ever. Products such as BelAZ mining dump trucks, MAZ trucks, and Belarusian tractors have been famous in Vietnam for decades.

The export turnover of Vietnamese agricultural products to Belarus (rice, nutritious nuts, coffee, fruits, seafood) grew positively. Recently, microchips and electronic devices branded "Made in Viet Nam " have become widely known.

The Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Viet Nam creates a driving force to promote the development of trade cooperation between Viet Nam and Belarus. The removal of trade barriers has allowed Vietnamese consumers to expand their access to high-quality products produced by Belarus such as confectionery, wine and milk.

In what areas can the two countries promote new cooperation in the coming time?

Viet Nam and Belarus still have much potential for cooperation. We are completing the process and procedures for exporting frozen meat to Vietnam. Vietnam also has high import demand for fertilizers and vaccines from Belarus.

The Belarusian Embassy is ready to cooperate with Vietnamese specialized agencies in ensuring food safety. The two countries can also cooperate in technology transfer.

We are developing the nuclear industry, the first nuclear power plant has been built and operated successfully. The space program is underway, with several satellites already launched into space. In March this year, the first female Belarusian astronaut Marina Vasilevskaya flew to the International Space Station.

We are ready to accompany Vietnamese authorities and businesses to remove "bottlenecks" to expand bilateral cooperation.

Vietnamese leaders cabled messages of congratulations to their Belarusian counterparts on the occasion of the 33rd Independence Day of Belarus on July 3.
President To Lam conveyed his congratulations to President Aleksandr Lukashenko, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh extended his greetings to his Belarusian counterpart Roman Golovchenko.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man sent messages to Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova and Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Sergeyenko.
On the occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son also extended congratulations to his Belarusian counterpart Maxim Ryzhenkov./.