Moscow meeting connects Vietnamese, Russian SMEs

Moscow (VNA) – A meeting was held in Moscow on March 13 to enhance ties between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Vietnam and Russia.

Opening the meeting, Vice President of the All Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” Nonna Kagramanian said the event was motivated by Russian entrepreneurs’ interest in partnerships with Vietnam. It was part of the Vietnam Year in Russia 2019 – a good time for both sides to intensify business links, launch SME projects and develop joint production to create added value chains.

She noted that an important goal of her organisation is to expand cooperation with businesspersons in Southeast Asia, with Vietnam a key target.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh expressed his belief that cooperation between the two SME communities will help achieve the bilateral trade target of 10 billion USD in 2020.

He welcomed partnerships between SMEs and efforts to create new development drivers this year, affirming that business-to-business meetings will be held more frequently in the two countries.

At the event, Commercial Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia Duong Hoang Minh gave an overview of Vietnam’s economy and bilateral economic connections.

Russia now ranks 24th among Vietnam’s trade partners with bilateral trade approximating 6 billion USD, impressive but below the two sides potential.

He noted although boosting partnerships between Vietnamese and Russian SMEs is a new and promising move, they still lack information about each other. Therefore, the bridging role of representative economic and commercial offices and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry is more necessary than ever.

Representatives of about 40 Vietnamese and Russian firms introduced their strengths and demand to partners at the event. Some fields attracting great attention included technology transfer, cooperation in manpower training, developing a digital economy and keeping up with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Founded in 2001, “Delovaya Rossiya” gathers more than 3,000 companies in various areas in Russia. Its members’ total annual revenue is estimated at 2.8 trillion rubles (more than 42.8 billion USD).-VNA