Vietnam, Russia's Far East region seek to boost trade cooperation

Commercial Sea Port Vladivostosk in the Russian Far East (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Moscow (VNA) – A roundtable on prospects for trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia's Far East region was held by the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) in Vladivostosk on June 15.

Participants heard that Vietnam recorded a strong economic rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, and experienced a growth of 8.02% in 2022. The Southeast Asian nation welcomed 3.7 million foreign tourists in the year.

The workshop also highlighted the significant cooperation between the two countries in the oil and gas sector, exemplified by the two joint ventures, VietXoPetro in Vietnam and RusVietPetro in Russia.

In his speech, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Vladivostok Nguyen Dang Hien stressed that Vietnam’s efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability and improve the investment environment have helped the country become a reliable destination for foreign investors.

There remains huge potential for the two countries to expand trade and tourism cooperation, he said, noting that it is necessary to resume direct flights between Vietnam and Russia and set up tourism promotion offices in each country.

The Russian government may also consider visa exemption for Vietnamese tourists for 15 days to stimulate tourism demand, he added.

Meanwhile, chief of the Vietnam trade mission in the Far East Nguyen Hong Thanh said the region plays an important role in the Russian government's "pivot to the East" policy.

According to Thanh, the most prominent event in the economic and trade relations between the Far East region and Vietnam is the resumption of a container shipping route by FESCO to deliver goods from Hai Phong and HCM City of Vietnam to Russia, and vice versa.

FESCO is planning to build a transshipment point at HCM City port to forward Russian goods to further markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and India and vice versa.

Besides FESCO, other operators such as OOO Transit and AO Transinergi have also started operating maritime routes from the Far East to Vietnam, Thanh said.

He noted that the Far East will be a good investment destination for Vietnamese businesses if there is a channel to provide sufficient information for the Vietnamese business community.

Vietnamese enterprises can consider cooperating with partners in the Far East region in potential fields such as civil and industrial construction, furniture production, coal and mineral mining, high-tech development, and food processing, he said./.

VNA