On September 29, 2025, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a round table entitled "Russia and Vietnam in the face of growing competition in the Asia-Pacific region and Eurasia: Points of Convergence." Russian and Vietnamese experts discussed key issues on the international agenda, including global and regional security, juxtaposed the concepts of Greater Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific, as well as analyzed relations between Vietnam and the leading powers, including Russia and China.
Julia Melnikova, Head of Asia and Eurasia Program at RIAC, and Bui Hai Dang, Director, Center for Korean Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City delivered welcoming remarks.
On September 29, 2025, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a round table entitled "Russia and Vietnam in the face of growing competition in the Asia-Pacific region and Eurasia: Points of Convergence." Russian and Vietnamese experts discussed key issues on the international agenda, including global and regional security, juxtaposed the concepts of Greater Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific, as well as analyzed relations between Vietnam and the leading powers, including Russia and China.
Julia Melnikova, Head of Asia and Eurasia Program at RIAC, and Bui Hai Dang, Director, Center for Korean Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City delivered welcoming remarks.
As part of discussion, special attention was paid to China's role in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region at large. Vietnamese experts also presented Hanoi's position on Russian‑Chinese initiatives in Eurasia and noted that deeper cooperation between Moscow and Beijing could significantly affect the relations of the pair with the ASEAN countries. In this context, Vietnam adheres to the balancing strategy and pursues cooperation with all priority partners.
Russian experts indicated Russia’s readiness to deepen relations with Vietnam both in the bilateral format and within BRICS+, the EAEU+ and the SCO+. According to them, Vietnam could claim to become a party in the Russia–China–Vietnam triangle in Eurasia. In addition, Moscow and Hanoi can develop partnership in ensuring the energy, food and financial security of the region, that allows Vietnam to diversify economic ties, and Russia to develop the concept of the Greater Eurasian Partnership.
Valeria Vershinina, Deputy Director of ASEAN Centre at MGIMO University; Anna Kireeva, Associate Professor at Department of Asian and African Studies and Senior Research Fellow at Institute for International Studies at MGIMO University; Alexander Korolev, Deputy Director of Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies of Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University; Elena Pyltsina, Senior Research Fellow at Centre for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies at Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Victor Sumsky, Chief Research Fellow at Group of the Asia-Pacific Region Problems at Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences took part in the event from the Russian side.
The Vietnamese side was represented by Dang Minh Duc, Vice Director of Institute for European and American Studies at Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), Vu Thuy Trang, Director of Center for Russian and SNG Studies at the VASS Institute for European and American Studies, Ton Nu Kim Phung, Senior Officer at University of Social Sciences and Humanities at Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City, and Huynh Kim Tin, Senior Advisor at Department of Project Management at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance.
Gleb Gryzlov, RIAC Program Coordinator, moderated the discussion.
