To Lam Secures Russian Nuclear and Oil Deals as Vietnam Keeps Balancing the Powers

Vietnam's leader, To Lam, has come away from a three-day state visit to Russia with a stack of new agreements and a clear message: Hanoi intends to keep Moscow close, even as it courts Washington, Beijing and Brussels. After talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on 9 September, the two sides signed more than a dozen cooperation documents covering nuclear energy, defence, finance, transport and mineral resources.

To Lam, who is both general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party and head of state, then left for France, the next stop on a trip that neatly illustrates the balancing act at the centre of Vietnamese foreign policy.

What was agreed

Energy dominated the talks. Both governments singled it out as the field where relations could make their biggest leap and pledged to expand long-standing cooperation in oil and gas. The two sides also signed a framework agreement on creating a strategic oil reserve in Vietnam.

The centrepiece is nuclear power. Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, is set to build the Ninh Thuan 1 plant in southern Vietnam, a 2,400-megawatt station using two VVER-1200 reactors, with commissioning targeted for 2031. The project builds on a deal the two countries reached earlier this year and would make Vietnam one of the few South-East Asian countries generating nuclear power.

Other outcomes included:

• A joint infectious-disease research laboratory, launched by video link during the visit.
• A goal of raising bilateral trade to $15 billion.
• Continued defence and military technology cooperation, as Russia remains Vietnam's main arms supplier.
• A pledge from Putin to work towards visa-free entry for Vietnamese citizens, without a timetable.
• An invitation for Putin to attend the APEC leaders' meeting that Vietnam will host on Phu Quoc island in November 2027.

Putin said the visit marked "a new milestone in the traditional friendship" between the two countries. To Lam, who also met Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other senior Russian figures, said Vietnam "always regards Russia as an important partner".

The context: an old friendship in a new world

The relationship dates back to Soviet support for North Vietnam, and Russian companies have for decades been involved in Vietnam's offshore oil and gas industry, including in parts of the South China Sea that China also claims. To Lam was last in Moscow in May 2025, for the Victory Day parade.

What has changed is the pressure on that friendship. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions have made financial and technology dealings with Moscow more complicated, and Vietnam's biggest export markets are in the United States, Europe and China, not Russia.

Why it matters

Vietnam's approach, often described as "bamboo diplomacy", is to bend towards several powers without breaking with any. This visit shows that approach in practice. Hanoi gets affordable nuclear technology, energy security and a trusted arms supplier. Moscow gets evidence that it is not isolated in Asia, and a foothold in one of the region's fastest-growing economies.

The nuclear deal is the part with the longest reach. A reactor project ties two countries together for decades, through construction, fuel supply, maintenance and training. By choosing Rosatom, Vietnam is locking in a long-term technical relationship with Russia at a time when many countries are trying to reduce their dependence on it.

The outlook

Much of what was signed consists of memorandums and targets rather than finished projects, and the $15 billion trade goal is some way above current levels. The real test will be whether Ninh Thuan 1 stays on schedule, and whether financing can be arranged despite sanctions.

For now, To Lam's onward trip to Paris makes the point he wanted to make: Vietnam will talk to everyone, and it will not be made to choose.

Image: Minh Hoang / European Communities, 2024 / EC - Audiovisual Service via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0