The Conference marking the 90th anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union was attended by heads of St Petersburg Government, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and The Union of Russian Writers as well as St Petersburg academia and a large delegation from Vietnam.

In his opening address to the Conference on 26 March 2021, Alexander Beglov, Governor of St Petersburg, said that the Conference was the first major offline event over the last 12 months. Beglov also highlighted positive changes driven by the dynamic cooperation between Russia and Vietnam.

Ngo Duc Manh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Russia, confirmed that Vietnam-Russia cooperation is going through a new phase of its development. “It is remarkable that now our cooperation is not limited to such traditional avenues as business, economy and culture. Our dialogue has extended to such sectors as healthcare and education,” said Ngo Duc Manh.

In her conference report Yuliya Komarova, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, said that Herzen University is a prime example of the growing rapprochement between the two nations. The University dates back to almost 225 years ago and now, for the first time in its history, it is launching programmes in Vietnamese language and culture. Undoubtedly, this initiative will turn a new page on the educational agenda of St Petersburg and Russia as a whole.  

The Conference became the venue for the presentation of a book written by Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh. The book titled Vietnam-Russia Relations: 70 Years of Glorious Cooperation contains over 700 images and documents illustrating different avenues of seventy-year-long cooperation between the two countries.

As a follow-up to the Conference, Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh held a working meeting with the representatives of Herzen University. He presented the University delegation with his book and wished the University to achieve remarkable accomplishments in the internationalization of education.