From Party cooperation to statistics: Vietnam and Azerbaijan add depth to strategic partnership

THE HANOI TIMES — Vietnam and Azerbaijan are deepening their strategic partnership, with Party-to-Party cooperation playing an increasingly important role in advancing bilateral relations substantively and sustainably.

On January 26, General Secretary To Lam received a delegation of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) led by Tahir Budagov, Deputy Chairman and Head of the Party Central Office, who visited Vietnam to congratulate the Communist Party of Vietnam on the successful organization of its 14th National Congress.

Political trust consolidated under strategic partnership

The meeting took place as bilateral relations enter a new phase following their upgrade to a strategic partnership during General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to Azerbaijan in May 2025. The upgrade has reinforced the role of Party-to-Party channels within the overall relationship between the two countries.

At the reception, Budagov conveyed congratulations from Azerbaijani President and YAP Chairman Ilham Aliyev and the Party leadership to General Secretary To Lam and the Party Central Committee on the success of the 14th Congress.

He also congratulated Lam on being re-elected as General Secretary, describing the outcome as a clear expression of the Vietnamese people’s trust in the Party’s leadership and in his personal contributions.

The YAP deputy chairman expressed admiration for Vietnam’s comprehensive development achievements in recent years, particularly its high economic growth and improving living standards.

He said the resolutions adopted at the 14th Congress would continue to generate strong momentum for Vietnam’s development and further enhance its international standing.

Highlighting the importance of General Secretary To Lam’s visit to Azerbaijan in May 2025, Budagov described the trip as a milestone that opened a new stage in the traditional friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries.

He said that YAP’s consistent support for strengthening bilateral relations across all fields and cooperation channels and pledged close coordination to effectively implement agreements reached by senior leaders.

General Secretary To Lam thanked the Azerbaijani leadership for their warm sentiments and conveyed key outcomes of the 14th Congress, stressing that the Congress not only set goals and orientations for the next five years but also adopted strategic decisions shaping Vietnam’s future in a new development era.

He reaffirmed Vietnam’s independent and self-reliant foreign policy and its consistent priority on relations with traditional friends and strategic partners, including Azerbaijan.

Both sides reviewed major milestones in bilateral relations and agreed to promote cooperation in traditional areas such as economy and trade, energy, education and training, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

They also agreed to expand cooperation into new fields, including science and technology, green economy and digital economy.

On the same day, Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu received the Azerbaijani delegation, affirming that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to work closely with relevant agencies of both sides to implement high-level agreements and strengthen the bilateral relations in the coming time.

Statistical cooperation adds substance to bilateral ties

Apart from political and diplomatic engagement, cooperation in statistics is emerging as an important technical pillar that supports governance quality and policy formulation, adding depth to the Vietnam-Azerbaijan strategic partnership.

On January 26, the General Statistics Office (GSO) under Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance and the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan signed a work plan for the 2026-2028 period to strengthen bilateral cooperation in statistics.

The signing took place during the visit of the New Azerbaijan Party delegation, underscoring the shared commitment to translating political trust into practical cooperation.

The 2026-2028 work plan concretizes a cooperation agreement signed in 2024, providing a clear roadmap for deeper engagement. Both sides agreed to intensify exchanges of professional expertise, expand technical cooperation and strengthen training and capacity building for statistical staff.

The two agencies also agreed to share experience in applying international statistical standards, managing and ensuring data quality and effectively using administrative data for statistical purposes, reflecting the broader trend toward modernizing national statistical systems and supporting data-driven governance.

Vietnam and Azerbaijan’s Strategic Partnership was highlighted at a reception hosted by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Hanoi on January 26, gathering senior officials, diplomats and representatives from both countries.

Deputy Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party Tahir Budagov underscored the long-standing traditional ties between the two nations, noting that Party-to-Party cooperation, including a memorandum signed three years ago, helped pave the way for upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2025. 

Following Party General Secretary To Lam’s visit to Azerbaijan in May 2025, he said the two countries' bilateral exchanges intensified, with multiple high-level Azerbaijani delegations visiting Vietnam.

Participants agreed that political trust, historical solidarity, and practical cooperation underpin the Strategic Partnership and continue to drive expanding ties across sectors.