International scientific conference celebrating 75 years of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic relations

According to expert Elena Nikulina, Russian scientists are particularly interested in Vietnam's domestic policies and the analysis is conducted in a more multidimensional and diverse manner.

Conference scene. (Photo: Tam Hang - VNA in Russia/VNA)

On October 23, at the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies under the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences, an international conference on "Current Issues in Vietnam Studies" took place. The conference was organized both in-person and online, bringing together not only Vietnamese researchers in Russia, young Vietnamese and Chinese scientists, but also researchers in other specialized fields. This event is considered the opening activity for a series of activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Russian Federation at the end of January 2025. The conference takes place every two years to gather important and necessary orientations and contents that the Vietnam Studies sector in Russia is interested in, thereby contributing to maintaining and developing the research field at high quality, while also acting as a forum to attract future Vietnam Studies scholars. In her welcoming speech at the conference, Director of the ASEAN Center of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' University of International Relations (MGIMO) Ekaterina Koldunova assessed that Vietnam has now shown many achievements in political stability and is on the path of economic development after a difficult period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making positive contributions to international and regional organizations. According to her, the task of Vietnamese researchers today is to analyze and understand those processes in Vietnam, serving the policy field as well as scientific research. During the 2-day conference, delegates will listen to 32 reports grouped into research directions such as history, politics, economics, culture... of a modern and traditional Vietnam. In the field of politics and foreign policy, young scientists from Moscow State University (MGU), the Institute of the United States and Canada, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi will introduce current issues such as Vietnam's role in cooperation with countries in the Southern Hemisphere in the context of forming a new world order, Vietnam's soft power resources, and how Vietnam balances relations with world powers. Domestic policies such as anti-corruption, smart city development, and ethnic policies are also topics of interest at the conference. Talking to a VNA reporter in Moscow, Director of the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies - Dr. Vladimir Mazyrin - commented that in recent years, many positive changes can be noted in the field of Vietnam studies. Firstly, the topic of Vietnam has attracted not only Vietnamese scholars, but also experts in other fields who have begun to write and publish articles about Vietnam, mainly on foreign economic and political issues. Secondly, although the field of historical research, which is mainly undertaken by veteran Vietnamese scholars, has somewhat declined, many cultural research orientations have emerged, for example, on ethnic costumes, religion, etc. Military translation is also a new field. According to Dr. Mazyrin, in some aspects, the participation of "non-Vietnamese scholars" has made the activities of Vietnamese researchers more diverse, more in-depth and more specific. Meanwhile, Ms. Elena Nikulina - an expert with many years of experience in the field of Vietnamese studies at the Center for Vietnamese and ASEAN Studies, chief editor of the electronic journal Vietnam Studies - said that while in the Soviet era, history and culture were the main advantages of the field of Vietnamese studies, later on, and especially in the past few years, researchers have paid more attention to Vietnam's international and economic policies. Based on Vietnam's increasingly strong position in the international arena, from its economic development achievements, Russian scientists have increasingly paid attention to foreign policy, especially the "bamboo diplomacy" philosophy that is currently of great interest to the world, and to Vietnam's reputation in the region and in the world. According to her, Russian scientists are particularly interested in Vietnam's domestic policies and the analyses are conducted in a more multidimensional and diverse manner. Recently, Vietnamese language and Vietnamese studies have become more popular in the Russian Federation, with more universities opening this major. However, according to dedicated experts from the generation that grew up in the Soviet Union, most graduates choose practical work, and not many continue to do in-depth research, which risks affecting the continuity of the industry. Delighted with Vietnam's rising position, they have high expectations for the good cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation in the new period, believing that cooperation will become a driving force and encouragement for scientists who have been and are continuing to build the scientific foundation for the traditional friendship between the two countries and two peoples.

Vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hoi-thao-khoa-hoc-quoc-te-ky-niem-75-nam-quan-he-ngoai-giao-viet-nam-nga-post987067.vnp