Vietnam–France Relations: General Secretary and President Tô Lâm’s back-to-back Russia and France diplomacy delivered “comprehensive and substantive” outcomes, with Hanoi and Paris issuing a joint statement to push implementation of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework and turning political trust into practical programmes across economy, science-tech, education, culture and people-to-people links. Defence Cooperation: Vietnam’s Deputy PM and Defence Minister Phan Văn Giang met France’s Armed Forces and Veterans minister to expand defence ties, including dialogue mechanisms, military medicine, training, search-and-rescue, maritime cooperation and UN peacekeeping support. Vietnam–Russia Pivot to Practical Gains: In Moscow, Tô Lâm and President Putin set a new agenda for deeper, more substantive cooperation—trade, energy (including a strategic oil reserve framework), defence and science-tech—while also stressing coordination on countering extremism and resisting asset freezes and foreign interference. BRICS Multilateral Push: Prime Minister Le Minh Hùng joined the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi as Vietnam’s partner-country role grows, meeting Narendra Modi to review progress after the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership upgrade and aligning on innovation, digital transformation and clean energy. India–UAE and Maritime Security: Modi used BRICS sidelines to frame India–UAE ties as a stability signal amid West Asia uncertainty, with discussions also covering maritime security and seafarers’ safety. Local Governance & Humanitarian Work: In Hanoi, 13,563 remains samples of fallen soldiers were transported for DNA testing to identify those who sacrificed their lives. Public Diplomacy & Controversy: UK-based Myanmar diaspora protesters targeted regional embassies, including Vietnam’s, criticizing engagement with the Myanmar regime and raising concerns about corporate links tied to surveillance and conflict financing.