HANOI, May 22. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev noted the changes that have taken place in Vietnam over the past 20 years, while he drew attention to the immutability of friendly relations between Moscow and Hanoi and assured that this would continue in the future.
«Today our relations are truly relations of strategic partnership. Your country is our old friend. We have a common history,» Medvedev said at a meeting with members of the Vietnamese-Russian Friendship Society.
This event was the first in the working program of his visit to Hanoi.
Medvedev admitted that every time he comes to Vietnam, he rejoices at the changes that have taken place in the country and its achievements. Comparing his first visit in 2000 with the current one, he remarked that «this is a different Vietnam, I congratulate you on that.»
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council also noted the contribution of the Society to the expansion of cooperation with Russia.
«It unites people of different ages and professions, but they are all very talented, very energetic and keep the memory of our country in their hearts,» he said.
«I would like it to continue like this. It depends on all of us and depends on the youth,» he said, adding that, judging by the level of Russian language proficiency of the second-year student who spoke to him at the meeting, this is all in order.
At the same time, Medvedev concluded that «the world is never calm. There are always difficulties and problems. We value our friendly relations — you can rest assured that this will continue to be the case.»
The Vietnamese-Russian Friendship Society is the successor to the Vietnamese-Soviet Friendship Society, which has been actively working since the early 1950s.
It is part of the Union of Vietnamese Friendship Societies and is one of its most numerous and active members.
They actively popularize information about today's life in Russia, support the traditions of friendship and solidarity between our peoples, organize events in honor of memorable dates in the history of the two countries, and take an active part in the «Immortal Regiment» campaigns in the main cities of Vietnam.
The society, which is headed by the former director general of the Vietnamese Television Chang Binh Minh, also has a printed and electronic publication — the Beryozka magazine.