President Truong Tan Sang on July 21 met with astronaut of the formerSoviet Union Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko, who together with Vietnameseastronaut Pham Tuan made a successful flight into space 35 years ago.

The State leader said Gorbatko’s visit coincides withactivities to mark Vietnam’s 70th National Day and the 35thanniversary of the Vietnam-Soviet Union flight into space.

Highlighting the traditional amity and special cooperation betweenVietnam and Russia for over 50 years, he noted that Vietnam appreciatesthe whole-hearted and enormous assistance of the Soviet Union during thefight for national liberation and that of Russia during the currentnational development.

Recalling the trip made byGorbatko and Pham Tuan 35 years ago, he said this was the first flightinto space of a Vietnamese national and marked a milestone in thedevelopment of friendship and all-faceted cooperation between Vietnamand the Soviet Union in the past and Russia today.

President Truong Tan Sang added that the flight laid an initialfoundation for Vietnam’s space collaboration. He asked Russianscientists to help their Vietnamese peers to access space studies forpeaceful purposes.

At the meeting in Hanoi, Gorbatkodescribed his trip into space with Pham Tuan as an unforgettable memoryand said he always keeps in minds the warm sentiment the Vietnamesepeople give him whenever he visits the country.

Thecosmonaut expressed his belief that his visit this time will contributeto space research cooperation between the two nations, thusconsolidating bilateral time-honoured affiliation and friendship.-VNA