Cooperation Between Vietnam and Russia in the Field of Labor Migration: Directions and New Opportunities

Current Vietnam – Russia relations are a continuation of the former Vietnam – Soviet Union traditional relations. Looking back at the reality and prospect of cooperation between the two countries over the past 20 years, from a strategic partnership to a comprehensive partnership, it can be seen that both sides have their potential and interests in this cooperation. These relations are increasingly deepening, especially in the areas where both sides have strong points, starting from politics and diplomacy, economy, culture and society, and up to national security and defense, where the two countries have reached great achievements. In particular, labor cooperation is an important foundation for promoting Vietnam – Russia relations to the next level. Vietnam with a population of 96.2 million people, has a labor force accounting for nearly two-thirds of the population including young, qualified and skilled workers. Therefore, sending workers abroad is a major policy of Vietnam in order to create jobs for workers and develop the country’s socio-economic sphere in the process of international integration. After many years of stagnation, the Labor Cooperation Agreement was signed (in 2008) between the two sides as an important foundation for sending the Vietnamese labor force to work in the Russian Federation. The COVID-19 pandemic also has a profound impact on Russia in all aspects – not only on the country’s economic and social development in general but also on the lives of migrant workers and labor cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in particular. The paper analyzes labor cooperation between the two sides, including its legal basis, and proposes a number of solutions to overcome difficulties caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.