Hanoi, St. Petersburg strengthen cooperation in potential sectors

THE HANOI TIMES — Hanoi and St. Petersburg have agreed to bolster mutual understanding and exchange, and to promote partnerships in trade, investment, culture, tourism, science, technology, engineering, and other areas.

This view was expressed during a meeting today [July 11] in Hanoi between Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, Nguyen Manh Quyen, and Deputy Chairman for External Relations of St. Petersburg, Kalganov Vyacheslav Gennadievich.

The two sides highlighted the significance of the visit, which took place at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin and coincided with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Russia.

As part of the visit, the Hanoi People’s Committee and the Government of St. Petersburg signed a bilateral cooperation agreement to foster exchanges, mutual understanding, and partnerships in trade, investment, culture, tourism, science, technology, engineering, and other promising fields.

Gennadievich praised Hanoi’s dynamic development and congratulated Vietnam on its recent administrative reforms, including the consolidation of provinces and the streamlining of local government structures. He proposed measures to advance the bilateral cooperation agreement, with a focus on information technology, education, and training.

For his part, Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Quyen welcomed the renewed engagement, recalling his visit to St. Petersburg in May and expressing his hope for strengthened collaboration between the two cities.

Sharing Hanoi’s current development priorities, Quyen noted that the city is accelerating its digital transformation and green transition, developing smart transportation systems and urban railway lines while addressing environmental pollution.

He added that Hanoi recently completed administrative restructuring and officially adopted a two-tier local government to streamline management from the central to local levels. In the first half of the year, the city recorded a GRDP growth rate of over 7%.

The city aims to achieve growth above 8% for the full year, laying the groundwork for a future goal of double-digit growth.

Quyen affirmed Hanoi’s strong desire to deepen its cooperation with international partners, including St. Petersburg, for mutual progress. He welcomed Gennadievich's proposals and expressed confidence that the partnership between the two cities would grow stronger through the implementation of the newly signed agreement.