A seminar was held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 11 to help businesses effectively tap the Russian market and increase import-export activities in the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

According to Deputy Director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) Ho Xuan Lam, Vietnam has become Russia ’s top priority partner in the path of entering the ASEAN market while Russia serves as a key market for Vietnam to expand business and investment in the Customs Union.

The two countries should map out their own strategies to exploit each other’s markets, especially after a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the union is concluded in early 2015, he said.

Kapustkinh Nikolay A, Deputy Chief Representative of the Russian Trade Office in Vietnam, said it is the best time for Vietnamese enterprises to invest and start up business in Russia since the FTA will bring big opportunities to them.

On the occasion, ITPC informed that it will send a delegation to study the market and promote trade in Russia from January 17-24, 2015.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Russia surpassed 2 billion USD in the first nine months of 2014, of which the former’s exports were worth nearly 1.44 billion USD, down 10 percent compared to the same period last year.

Trade between HCM City and the European country hit over 250 million USD during the period and the city is now home to 20 Russian-invested projects with a total capital of over 44 million USD.-VNA