The working visit to the Russian Federation by a Quang Ninh City delegation led by Trinh Thi Minh Thanh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairwoman of the City People’s Council, concluded with a range of practical outcomes. From Irkutsk and Saint Petersburg to Moscow, the meetings not only helped further strengthen the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia, but also opened up specific opportunities for cooperation in aviation, tourism, education and training, science and technology, trade, investment and business connectivity.
The working visit to the Russian Federation by a Quang Ninh City delegation led by Trinh Thi Minh Thanh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairwoman of the City People’s Council, concluded with a range of practical outcomes. From Irkutsk and Saint Petersburg to Moscow, the meetings not only helped further strengthen the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia, but also opened up specific opportunities for cooperation in aviation, tourism, education and training, science and technology, trade, investment and business connectivity.
In Irkutsk, where Quang Ninh established cooperative relations in 2018, talks between the Quang Ninh City delegation and the Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk reaffirmed the close friendship between the two localities. Alexander Viktorovich Vedernikov, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk, expressed his appreciation for relations with Quang Ninh and hoped that the visit would further expand practical areas of cooperation between the two localities. The two sides focused on identifying three areas with the potential to deliver early results: tourism, culture and heritage conservation; education, science and technology; and business connectivity, trade and investment. In particular, Ha Long Bay and Lake Baikal were viewed as distinctive symbols of tourism cooperation between Quang Ninh and Irkutsk.
A working session with the East Siberian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which currently brings together more than 500 businesses and organisations, opened another channel for direct connectivity between the business communities of the two localities. The two sides discussed the possibility of an East Siberian business delegation visiting Quang Ninh, with a focus on tourism and services, environmental technology, clean energy, processing and manufacturing industries, and logistics.
At a working session in Saint Petersburg, Alexander Nikolaevich Belsky, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, proposed strengthening exchanges and mutual understanding while opening up new opportunities for cooperation between the two localities, particularly by promoting the launch of flights to Van Don International Airport. Beyond the Legislative Assembly, the Saint Petersburg Committee for External Relations also expressed a strong interest in connecting businesses, promoting air links and expanding cooperation with Quang Ninh. The two sides agreed to designate contact points immediately after the visit and work towards developing a 2027–2028 cooperation programme, with at least one pilot programme to be implemented in 2027.
Under the tentative schedule, a delegation from Irkutsk is expected to pay a working visit to Quang Ninh in October 2026, while a Saint Petersburg delegation is expected to visit in November 2026. The working visit to the Russian Federation can be seen as a step towards broadening Quang Ninh City’s external relations in a new stage of development. It has not only deepened the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Russian Federation, but also opened up more concrete opportunities to attract resources, markets and knowledge and generate new momentum for Quang Ninh’s development in the years ahead.
By Manh Truong
