The trip includes a State visit to Russia, an official visit to France and participation in the 2026 International Space Summit in Paris.

Speaking to the press ahead of the trip, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang highlighted its importance for both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, with a focus on strengthening political trust, creating a favourable external environment for Vietnam and mobilising international resources for national development.

Giving fresh impetus to Vietnam-Russia ties

According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, the State visit to Russia demonstrates Vietnam’s importance attached to the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and is expected to mark a new milestone in bilateral relations.

Building on more than 75 years of traditional friendship and high political trust, the visit aims to further strengthen the foundation of bilateral ties, increase high-level contacts and improve the effectiveness of cooperation through Party, State, Government and legislative channels, as well as people-to-people exchanges.

One of the priorities is to generate progress in traditional areas of cooperation, particularly oil and gas and energy, including nuclear power, while making the economy, trade, investment and infrastructure connectivity new drivers of bilateral ties.

The two sides will seek to expand connectivity in aviation, maritime transport and railways and encourage businesses from both countries to participate in investment projects in each other’s markets.

Science and technology, innovation and high-quality human resources training are also identified as promising areas, covering digital technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, machinery manufacturing, smart transport and basic research.

Alongside economic cooperation, Vietnam and Russia will continue to strengthen the social and cultural foundations of bilateral ties through Vietnamese and Russian language teaching, exchanges of students, lecturers, artists and athletes, and cooperation in cinema, tourism and between localities. The two sides will also promote the role of friendship associations, alumni networks and the Vietnamese community in Russia.

Turning Vietnam-France partnership into concrete results

With France, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said the visit is an important opportunity to further strengthen political trust, establish a long-term vision and translate the comprehensive strategic partnership into specific programmes, projects and tangible results, with the effective implementation of the 2026-2028 Action Plan as an immediate priority.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation is expected to gain fresh momentum, alongside efforts to make science and technology, innovation and digital transformation new drivers of bilateral relations.

The two sides also aim to expand cooperation in strategic and sustainable development areas, including new energy, the green transition, climate change, transport and infrastructure, defence and security, and education and training.

At the same time, they will seek to give further impetus to traditional areas such as culture, health care, justice, agriculture and local cooperation.

The visit will provide an opportunity to connect France’s strengths in science and technology, innovation and strategic technology sectors with Vietnam’s emerging development needs, helping attract additional resources for the country’s goals of rapid and sustainable development and creating further impetus for deeper, more substantive and effective bilateral ties, the Deputy Foreign Minister noted.

Space cooperation opens a new avenue

On the multilateral front, Party General Secretary and President To Lam’s participation in the 2026 International Space Summit slated for September 9-10 in Paris, France, reflects Vietnam’s development vision and proactive approach to international integration. It also represents the highest-level implementation of the Party’s major orientations on foreign policy, international integration, and the development of science, technology and innovation, creating conditions for Vietnam to take part in shaping international cooperation frameworks in a field of growing strategic importance to the country.

Technology and the space industry are also emerging as a new strategic avenue for cooperation between Vietnam and France. Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said that with Party General Secretary and President To Lam attending the Space Summit, the industry is expected to create new opportunities for Vietnam-France cooperation while enabling Vietnam to participate at an early stage in shaping global rules, norms and governance mechanisms for outer space.

The summit will also provide an opportunity for Vietnam to contribute to efforts to shape space governance in a direction that serves peace, safety, sustainability, fairness and the common interests of humanity.

From frameworks and commitments to deeper implementation

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang stressed that a key focus of Vietnam’s approach to Russia and France is to turn established political foundations and cooperation frameworks into more concrete programmes, projects and results.

With Russia, the focus is on generating progress in traditional areas while creating new drivers through the economy, infrastructure, science and technology and human resources training. With France, the priority is to translate the comprehensive strategic partnership into concrete outcomes alongside expanding cooperation into strategic and emerging technological fields.

According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, Vietnam expects the trip to produce “concrete, substantive and long-lasting” results, creating further impetus to move from established frameworks and commitments into a phase of broader, more substantive and effective implementation.