Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

(KPL/VNA) Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on June 19 night, starting a state visit to Vietnam from June 19-20 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Russian leader is accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Russian sub-committee of the Vietnam-Russia intergovernmental committee on economic-trade and science-technology cooperation Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko, and Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko, among others.

Prominent among those present at the airport to welcome the Russian guests were Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of its External Relations Commission Le Hoai Trung, member of the Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha who is also head of the Vietnamese sub-committee of the Vietnam-Russia intergovernmental committee on economic-trade and science-technology cooperation, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi.

President Putin has visited Vietnam four times. The visit this time holds an extremely important significance, further deepening the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in all fields, especially in the context that the two countries are striving to realise the joint statement on the comprehensive strategic partnership vision to 2030.

KPL