The Hanoi delegation was led by Phung Thi Hong Ha, Vice Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council and Deputy Head of the Hanoi National Assembly Delegation.

Working with Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly

On May 18, Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council Phung Thi Hong Ha and the Hanoi delegation held talks with the Chairman of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly.

At the meeting, the Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council expressed her appreciation and sincere gratitude for the warm and respectful reception extended by the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly to the delegation.

Ha stated that based on the increasingly positive Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Russia, friendly relations between Hanoi and Saint Petersburg have made significant progress since 2022.

From 2023 to 2025, both sides agreed to promote the signing of cooperation agreements to officially establish relations and create a solid foundation for local-level cooperation.

During the talks, Ha provided an overview of Hanoi's recent socio-economic development and information regarding the Hanoi People's Council.

Sessions of the Hanoi People's Council have adopted important resolutions focusing on socio-economic development, security, defense and implementation of the 2026 Capital Law's objectives.

The Standing Committee of the Hanoi People's Council has strengthened oversight activities and selected practical issues such as infrastructure and the environment for supervision, questioning and explanation in order to unlock resources and remove bottlenecks for the city.

Regarding cooperation between Hanoi and Russian localities, Hanoi has signed friendship and cooperation agreements with Moscow and promoted multifaceted cooperation with Saint Petersburg.

In 2025, the signing of the cooperation agreement between the Hanoi People's Committee and Saint Petersburg marked an important milestone in relations between the two cities, demonstrating their shared determination to strengthen exchanges and mutual understanding.

The agreement has also promoted partnerships in trade, investment, culture, tourism, science, technology, engineering and many other promising sectors.

In 2026, continuing the positive achievements of bilateral cooperation, the councils of both cities agreed to advance cooperative initiatives.

Regarding priority areas of cooperation, the Hanoi People's Council expressed its desire to learn from the experience of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly in promoting local foreign policy initiatives, developing special mechanisms and policies to attract investment, managing urban development and preserving heritage values within a modern city.

Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation and exchange experience in infrastructure development and waterway transportation, healthcare cooperation, technical transfer and medical training, as well as student exchange programs between high schools and language education initiatives.

In addition, the two sides will coordinate the organization of cultural weeks and exhibitions between museums and theaters to help residents of both localities better understand each other's culture, arts and heritage values.

On this occasion, Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council Phung Thi Hong Ha invited the Chairman of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly and a delegation from Saint Petersburg to visit and work in Hanoi during the third or fourth quarter of 2026.

Following the talks, leaders of the two councils signed a memorandum of understanding. The event marked an important milestone, opening a new chapter in the traditional friendship between the two capitals.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Ha affirmed that from this milestone onward, the Hanoi People's Council and the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly would strongly promote substantive cooperation activities aimed at sharing oversight solutions, making decisions on important urban planning and smart city management issues, and enhancing exchanges in economics, culture, tourism, education and people-to-people relations between the two capitals.

She expressed confidence that with an open and constructive spirit of cooperation and strong determination, both sides would successfully implement the contents agreed upon in the memorandum, bringing practical benefits to the development of Hanoi and Saint Petersburg while contributing to strengthening the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Hanoi People's Council and the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly carries important diplomatic and political significance, providing a strong foundation for transforming relations between the two cities from initial contact into substantive, comprehensive and in-depth cooperation at both the legislative and governmental levels.

Continuing the working program, the Hanoi delegation participated in other activities within the framework of the Vietnam Week in Saint Petersburg.

On the same day, the Hanoi delegation attended the Vietnam Economic Day in Saint Petersburg.

On the Vietnamese side, the seminar was co-chaired by Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi and Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council Phung Thi Hong Ha.

Representing Saint Petersburg were Dmitry Vasilenko, Vice Rector of the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics; Nikolay Bondarenko, Deputy Chairman of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly; Viacheslay Kalganov, Deputy Head of the Saint Petersburg External Relations Committee; along with leaders of the Union of Vietnamese Organizations in Russia and representatives of Vietnamese and Russian organizations, businesses, associations and foundations.

The Vietnam Economic Day was an important event within the framework of Vietnamese Culture and Language Days organized by the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics in coordination with the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly and the city's External Relations Committee.

The event aimed to provide a forum for exchanges, networking and sharing updated information on strategies, potential and macroeconomic development directions toward new growth drivers.

Speaking at the forum, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi said the Vietnam Economic Day marked the opening of a series of activities during Vietnam Week in Saint Petersburg 2026.

The event offered an opportunity for partners, businesses and localities from both countries to review each side's economic picture, evaluate practical development experiences from 2025 and create breakthroughs for 2026.

Offering flowers at President Ho Chi Minh's monument

On May 19, marking the 136th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, the Hanoi delegation attended a flower offering ceremony at the President Ho Chi Minh Monument in Vyborg District together with a Vietnamese delegation led by Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Saint Petersburg government and legislative authorities, leaders of Vyborg District and many Russian military personnel, intellectuals, students and residents.

In a solemn and emotional atmosphere, delegates respectfully offered flowers in memory of President Ho Chi Minh while recalling historical stories and the longstanding friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

The delegation then worked with Saint Petersburg School No. 488 and visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum at the school.

During a meeting with Natalya Osennov, principal of School No. 488, Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council Phung Thi Hong Ha expressed appreciation to the Saint Petersburg authorities for their close cooperation with Vietnamese agencies in constructing the President Ho Chi Minh Monument in the city.

The commemorative space dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh at School No. 488 serves as a vivid symbol of friendship between the two nations and helps younger generations gain a deeper understanding of his life, career and major contributions to bilateral relations.

On the same day, the delegation attended the dialogue conference titled "Heart to heart, people-to-people diplomacy as the foundation for sustainable friendship."

Participants included the Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia, the Chairman of the Union of Vietnamese Organizations in Russia, the Deputy Chairman of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly and representatives from friendship associations, agencies, students and youth from both countries.

Speaking at the conference, Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council Phung Thi Hong Ha emphasized that deep mutual understanding and trust between the peoples of the two nations form the essential foundation of the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership today.

Hanoi is always proud to preserve strong symbols of this friendship, including landmark projects built with contributions from Russian experts and beloved Russian songs still remembered by many residents of the capital who studied, worked and grew up in Russia.

Hanoi stands ready to create the best possible conditions for Russian friends, experts and businesses to live and work conveniently in the city and consider it their second home, while also coordinating support for Vietnamese people studying and building careers in Russia.

"That emotional bond will grow even stronger as cooperative relations between Hanoi and Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other Russian localities become increasingly substantive and effective," Ha said.

Also on the same day, the delegation attended the opening ceremony of the Reading Culture and Vietnamese Language Day at the Festival Youth Center.

The event aimed to strengthen mutual understanding of the Vietnamese and Russian languages, promote reading culture and improve knowledge among younger generations.

The delegation also met with leaders of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, one of Russia's oldest and largest pedagogical universities, headquartered in Saint Petersburg.

Both sides shared an interest in promoting cooperation in language teaching and educating younger generations about the culture, language and history of both nations.

Within the framework of the Vietnam Week in Saint Petersburg, the delegation met and worked with the Union of Vietnamese Organizations in Russia and the Vietnamese community in Saint Petersburg.

At the meeting, Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Council Phung Thi Hong Ha provided an overview of Hanoi's recent socio-economic development, as well as information about the Capital Law and the city's major policies.

Ha noted that Hanoi consistently values and promotes work related to overseas Vietnamese communities, including diversifying outreach activities, strengthening support policies for overseas Vietnamese and encouraging overseas Vietnamese to contribute to national development.

In the coming period, coordination and connections between Hanoi agencies and the Union of Vietnamese Organizations in Russia will become more regular and closer.