HANOI, July 27 (Itar-Tass) —— The Vietnamese people will always be grateful to the Soviet and Russian people for their free, sincere and efficient help in the hard times of Vietnam’s struggle for its independence and post-war revival, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, who began his official visit to Russia on Thursday, said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass.
In these years, the former Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation helped to train more than 50,000 Vietnamese specialists. Many of former graduates from Soviet and Russian higher education establishments are now occupying high positions in the country.
Now, in his words, the Japanese youth also opt for Russia as a place where to study for university degrees and want to make their contribution to strengthening of friendly relations between the two countries. “Many young people study the Russian language in order to get a better knowledge of the country, the Russian people and its heroic history. As many as 6,000 Vietnamese citizens are currently studying in Russia. Each year, this number is growing by 500-700 people. I hope in future tens of thousands of Vietnamese students will be trained in Russia in all key disciplines,” Truong Tan Sang stressed.
Vietnam’s youth, in his words, feels solidarity and mutual assistance between our countries. They highly value the close relations between their country and Russia, the president noted. In his words, basic current global development tendencies are integration, broader and diversified foreign political ties, and it influences the youth’s moods. “But the positive image of Russians will be forever cherished by the Vietnamese,” he emphasized.
“We shall never forget that we have such close, true and reliable friend as Russia. We shall regularly meet with our Russian friends and openly discuss acute problems of mutual interest. Russia is now undergoing a large-scale modernization, which Russians are pinning great hopes on. We are pursuing a policy of renovation and industrialization. I hope our countries’ efforts will be successful and it will promote further strengthening and development of our fruitful cooperation in the interests of both countries,” he said in conclusion.