Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang attended the ceremony.
In his opening address, Major General Dang Hong Trien, Director General of the Viet Nam-Russia Tropical Center, reviewed the center’s establishment and development.
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General Phan Van Giang reviews the guards-of-honor. |
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Delegates welcome General Phan Van Giang. |
He noted that, thanks to the attention and investment of the Party, State, and Government of Viet Nam and the Government of the Russian Federation, particularly the Central Military Commission and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, as well as relevant Russian agencies, the center’s scientific and technological capabilities have been steadily strengthened and developed.
To date, the center has established and completed a comprehensive network of research facilities, laboratories, monitoring stations, and research and testing stations across Viet Nam’s three regions. These facilities are equipped with modern and synchronized infrastructure to support research activities by scientists from both countries.
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General Phan Van Giang and delegates visit the exhibition area. |
Notably, the Russian side has provided the center with numerous modern research vehicles and equipment, including two mobile epidemiological surveillance laboratories and the oceanographic research vessel Professor Gagarinsky. Most recently, the two sides inaugurated a disease prevention and control laboratory.
The investment from both countries, together with a highly qualified scientific workforce, has enabled the center to implement a range of breakthrough initiatives and expand its scientific and technological activities in both scope and depth. Its research has focused on four key areas: tropical materials science, tropical ecology, tropical biomedicine, and biotechnology, yielding many important results.
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General Phan Van Giang addresses the ceremony. |
At the ceremony, General Phan Van Giang presented the First-class Fatherland Protection Order to the center.
This marks the second time the center has received the First-class Fatherland Protection Order, representing special recognition by the Party and State for its contribution to national construction and defense, particularly its role in promoting Viet Nam-Russia cooperation. The award also serves as a great source of encouragement for generations of officials, employees, military officers, and scientists from both countries.
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Major General Dang Hong Trien speaking at the event |
On behalf of the CMC and MND, General Phan Van Giang commended and congratulated the Viet Nam-Russia Tropical Center on its achievements over nearly 40 years of establishment and development.
He emphasized that the center has overcome many difficulties and challenges and continued to grow and mature in all aspects. It has developed into a reputable multi-disciplinary tropical science and technology institution in Viet Nam, Russia, and internationally. The center has become a “bridge for scientific and technological cooperation” and a “common home” bringing together experts and scientists from the two countries, connecting more than 50 Russian scientific organizations.
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General Phan Van Giang presents the First-class Fatherland Protection Order to the center. |
The center’s achievements have not only delivered practical benefits to both countries, but also made significant contributions to consolidating and developing the deep-rooted friendship, mutual trust, and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and the Russian Federation, he noted.
To fulfill its missions in the coming years, General Phan Van Giang requested the center to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the policies and directives of the Party, State, CMC and MND on developing science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, international integration, and defense diplomacy in the new situation.
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General Phan Van Giang and delegates in a joint photo |
He also called on the center to effectively and strictly implement cooperation commitments agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries in joint statements; pursue breakthroughs in building a comprehensively strong, typical and exemplary unit; accelerate the development of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation; take the lead in mastering new technologies; and gradually enhance strategic autonomy, among others.
Building on the noble qualities and glorious traditions of the heroic Viet Nam People’s Army and the longstanding friendship between the two countries, the CMC and MND expressed confidence that the center would continue striving to fulfill all assigned missions and develop into a leading scientific and technological institution of the military and the country, with certain fields reaching regional and international standards, serving as an exemplary model and symbol of bilateral cooperation, General Phan Van Giang said.
Translated by Quynh Oanh