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Vietnam’s president strengthens international profile with Russia and France trip

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Vietnamese President and Communist Party General Secretary To Lam is traveling to Russia and France, where he is expected to meet Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron.
  • Hanoi said the trip will include attendance at the Space Summit in Paris, but gave no detailed schedule for either country.
  • The visit reflects Lam’s broad international outreach and Vietnam’s effort to balance relations with major powers while pursuing economic growth.

To Lam is reinforcing his international profile with a new trip to Russia and France, continuing an intense foreign-policy schedule since he became Vietnam’s president while retaining his position as Communist Party general secretary.

Lam is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Vietnam’s government said the trip will begin in Russia and continue in France, where Lam will attend the Space Summit in Paris before returning on Saturday. Hanoi did not provide detailed dates or an agenda for each country.

mobilize and leverage international resources for national development

· Vietnamese governmentHanoi described the purpose of To Lam’s trip and wider international outreach.

The Vietnamese leader is traveling with a large delegation of politicians and officials. The government said his goal is to “mobilize and leverage international resources for national development.” Lam became party general secretary in August 2024 after the death of his predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong, and consolidated his power when he became president last April.

We are very conscious of the historic relationship between Hanoi and Moscow, but that does not prevent us from having a very frank discussion about Russia and its war of aggression in Ukraine and the impact that could have on relations between Hanoi and France and the EU.

· French presidency sourcesFrench officials described how Paris views Vietnam’s ties with Russia during Lam’s visit.

Lam has made about 30 international trips over the past two years, including visits to China, the United States, Cuba, North Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom and India. This will be his first trip to Russia and France as head of state, although he visited Moscow in May 2025 and Paris in October 2024 as party leader.

Vietnam, one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies, aims to achieve 10% gross domestic product growth over the next five years. Its “bamboo diplomacy” seeks flexibility among major powers, including China, the United States, Russia and the European Union. France’s presidency said it wanted to engage Vietnam in “the reconstruction of Ukraine,” while acknowledging that Hanoi’s historic ties with Moscow do not prevent frank discussions about Russia’s war and its impact on relations with France and the EU.

the reconstruction of Ukraine

· French presidencyThe French presidency identified Vietnam’s possible engagement in rebuilding Ukraine as an objective of the visit.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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