Continuing Joint Efforts to Advance the Comprehensive Development of the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center

The 37th Session of the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee for the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center was held in Moscow, Russian Federation, on 15 October. It was co-chaired by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chairman of the Vietnamese Subcommittee; and Konstantin Ilyich Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Russian Subcommittee.

At the session, delegates heard the Center’s Co-Directors General present reports on its scientific research results and activities in 2026, together with its Science and Technology Research Plan for 2027. Both sides acknowledged and highly appreciated the results and endorsed the reports presented.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang at the session
Konstantin Ilyich Mogilevsky at the session.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, and the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor). He thanked these agencies for their attention and support in advancing research, including new research directions; cooperating in the construction, equipping and commissioning of the biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory; conducting marine research using the research vessel Professor Gagarinskiy; and training Vietnamese personnel.
An overview of the 37th Session of the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee for the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center.

In 2026, cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation in general, and cooperation within the framework of the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center in particular, benefited from the strategic guidance of the two countries’ senior leaders. This guidance was reflected in the Joint Statement on Further Strengthening the Vietnam - Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Period, issued on the occasion of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s state visit to the Russian Federation in September 2026. In the statement, both sides recognized the importance of continuing to support the Center’s applied, fundamental and marine research, including the use of the research vessel Professor Gagarinskiy, transferred by the Russian Federation in 2025. This provides a highly favourable foundation for the Center’s development in 2027 and beyond.
Delegates from the two countries pose for a group photograph

Konstantin Ilyich Mogilevsky emphasized that the active exchange of high-level delegations reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to expanding the Center’s activities and reflected their high level of political trust and dynamic scientific cooperation. Regular sessions of the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee have helped define the Center’s future directions and development prospects. Key milestones -0including the handover of the research vessel Professor Gagarinskiy, joint scientific expeditions by researchers from both countries, the commissioning of the BSL-3 laboratory, and training courses for Vietnamese researchers - have contributed to deepening bilateral defence cooperation.

For 2027, both sides agreed that the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center should take proactive and decisive steps to develop programmes and action plans for implementing its Development Strategy to 2035, while continuing to improve its organizational structure, develop its workforce and train personnel to meet the requirements of the new period. The Center should continue investing in and acquiring research equipment and ensure its effective operation and use. Coordination should also be strengthened in conducting joint marine research using the research vessel Professor Gagarinskiy.

Both sides agreed to prioritize finalizing the draft Supplementary Protocol to the Agreement signed on 7 March 1987 and submitting it to their respective governments for signature, with particular emphasis on mechanisms for bilateral technology transfer. They also agreed to develop plans and programmes and prepare meaningful and effective activities to mark the Center’s 40th anniversary.

At the conclusion of the session, the two Co-Chairmen of the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee signed the Minutes of the Session, the Science and Technology Research Plan for 2027, and the Co-Directors General’s report on the Center’s activities in 2026.

Earlier, the delegation visited the Moscow Aviation Institute.

The delegation visits the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Source: Kieu Trinh, People’s Army Newspaper (qdnd.vn)