Vietnam, Russia strengthen ties with new nuclear cooperation agreement
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The two nations also signed agreements on cooperation in the digital economy and wireless communications.
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Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (L) shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Government Office in Hanoi on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
Vietnam and Russia signed agreements on nuclear energy and several other cooperation deals on Tuesday during Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's visit to Hanoi, Reuters reported.
Vietnam, which has suspended its nuclear energy program for years, now seeks to revive it to meet the growing power demands of its expanding industrial sector, a key driver of its economy.
The nation maintains strong ties with Moscow, Washington, and Beijing. Russia has long been Vietnam's primary supplier of military equipment, and Russian oil and gas companies operate within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, including areas also claimed by China.
According to a joint statement outlining the signed agreements, Rosatom, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, and EVN, Vietnam’s state-owned power utility, committed to strengthening cooperation in the nuclear energy sector. However, details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
The United States has imposed extensive sanctions on Rosatom’s subsidiaries and senior officials, with the latest measures announced last week by the US Department of State. Rosatom has criticized these sanctions, calling them "unfounded and unlawful" and labeling them as a "form of unfair competition from unfriendly states."
Additionally, Moscow agreed to transfer a maritime research vessel to Vietnam under an agreement signed between Vietnam's Defense Ministry and Russia's Science Ministry.
"The two sides will review, discuss, and find solutions to the limitations in bilateral cooperation," Vietnam's government stated on its website, referring to the agreements signed during the visit.
Western sanctions on Russia, imposed in response to its military operations in Ukraine, have complicated financial transactions between Hanoi and Moscow.
The two nations also signed agreements on cooperation in the digital economy and wireless communications.
Rosatom 'very interested' in collaborating on Ninh Thuan nuclear power project
Details of the nuclear agreement remain undisclosed, but Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology stated on Tuesday that Alexey Likhachev, the general director of Rosatom, was "very interested" in collaborating with Vietnam on the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project.
The project, which involves the construction of two plants in Ninh Thuan province with a combined capacity of 4,000 megawatts, was initially set to be developed with assistance from Rosatom and Japan’s JINED consortium. However, the plans were abandoned in 2016.
Likhachev visited Hanoi on Monday for a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, marking their third meeting in six months.
The nuclear agreement was among seven deals signed across various sectors, including digital technology and electronics.
This visit comes six months after President Vladimir Putin's trip to Hanoi, during which Vietnam's then-president, To Lam, expressed a desire to enhance defense cooperation with Moscow.
During that visit, which coincided with intensified Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war, Putin noted that the two nations held "identical or very close" stances on major international issues.
Vietnam and Russia have maintained a strong alliance since the Cold War era. Russia has been Vietnam’s primary arms supplier for decades, accounting for over 80% of imports between 1995 and 2023. However, arms orders have declined in recent years due to the growing impact of international sanctions on Russia.
Read more: In first, China exports more to Vietnam than Japan
