A delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, led by its Deputy Secretary Dang Minh Thong, held talks with Mr. Evgeny Grigoriev, St. Petersburg's Deputy Governor cum Chairman of its Committee for External Relations, on the morning of November 9 (local time) during a working visit to Russia.
Mr. Evgeny Grigoriev said the visit demonstrated Ho Chi Minh City's consistent commitment to strengthening ties with St. Petersburg, contributing to the further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia in a new phase.
Mr. Dang Minh Thong conveyed warm greetings and best wishes from Mr. Tran Luu Quang, Politburo Member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, to the governor and other city leaders.
Recalling his emotional visit earlier that morning to lay flowers at the monument to President Ho Chi Minh, Mr. Dang Minh Thong expressed his deep appreciation to the St. Petersburg authorities and residents for their active cooperation and support in completing the monument in June 2023.
The monument was inaugurated to mark the 100th anniversary of Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as Ho Chi Minh, first arriving in Petrograd, the city's name at the time, in 1923.
Mr. Dang Minh Thong also praised St. Petersburg's efforts to encourage younger generations and schoolchildren to visit the monument, learn about President Ho Chi Minh's life and legacy, and explore the longstanding friendship between Vietnam and Russia.
He reaffirmed that Ho Chi Minh City attached great importance to its traditional friendship and strategic cooperation with Russian partners, including its sister-city relationship with St. Petersburg, established in 2005.
Briefing the Russian delegation on Ho Chi Minh City's scale, economic potential, competitive advantages and strategic development priorities following its administrative merger, Mr. Dang Minh Thong said the two cities had considerable room to expand cooperation.
He highlighted several promising areas, including urban planning, transportation development, smart city management and the construction of modern infrastructure while preserving historic and cultural landmarks.
To further strengthen bilateral ties, Mr. Dang Minh Thong outlined several priorities for cooperation in the coming years.
First, the two cities should maintain exchanges of delegations at various levels to strengthen connections, advance concrete joint projects, and explore new areas of cooperation based on existing agreements.
Second, they should seek opportunities to collaborate on urban infrastructure planning, public transportation, metro systems, and the development of underground and low-altitude economic spaces.
Third, cooperation should be expanded in trade, tourism, culture, sports, and people-to-people exchanges.
Finally, both sides should promote practical cooperation in science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, while sharing experience in developing digital infrastructure to support data-driven governance and technology-enabled public administration.
Mr. Evgeny Grigoriev welcomed Mr. Dang Minh Thong's comprehensive assessment of relations between the two countries and their respective cities, expressing strong support for the proposed cooperation priorities.
He stressed that the St. Petersburg administration attached great importance to its relationship with Ho Chi Minh City and was ready to work closely with its Vietnamese counterpart to successfully implement joint programs and exchanges.
A key milestone will come in 2027, when the two cities mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their friendship. The relationship dates back to 1977, when St. Petersburg was known as Leningrad during the Soviet era.
Mr. Evgeny Grigoriev said the anniversary would provide an opportunity to expand and deepen substantive cooperation across various fields.
During the talks, the Ho Chi Minh City delegation also heard presentations from a Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg Transport Committee and the General Director of Metrostroy Severnoy Stolitsy, a metro construction company.
The presentations provided an overview of the development and current scale of St. Petersburg's metro system, as well as the city's capabilities in metro construction, management and operations.
The meeting concluded with a reception hosted by Mr. Evgeny Grigoriev for the visiting delegation.
Earlier, on November 8, the Ho Chi Minh City delegation held a working session with leaders of St. Petersburg's Committee for External Relations and Legislative Assembly, along with representatives of nearly 10 leading companies from Moscow and St. Petersburg operating in transportation and infrastructure construction.
