Vietnam, Russia hold high-level government-business dialogue

Hanoi (VNA) – Government officials and businesses of Vietnam and Russia attended a high-level dialogue forum held in Hanoi on October 29 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the office of the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights.

Addressing the forum, which was occasioned by a working trip to Vietnam by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov and a business delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said the event is a good initiative to enhance the effectiveness of Vietnam-Russia cooperation in many fields.

He expressed the hope that the time-tested relations between the two countries will continue to advance further, and affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will always be a reliable strategic partner of Russia.

Vietnam is committed to creating the best possible conditions for Russian businesses to invest in Vietnam, the Deputy PM said.

 On the Russian part, Deputy PM Akimov noted that the business communities of the two countries have cooperated with each other for years, reaping positive outcomes.

He said he is certain that Russian businesses will make a greater presence in Vietnam. At the same time, the Russian Government pledges to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to invest in Russia.

Besides the traditional cooperative areas of oil and gas and energy, Russia plans to expand ties with Vietnam in high technology, telecoms and electronics, and digital technology, the Deputy PM said, stressing that e-Government, information security and smart city will be the three focuses of bilateral cooperation in the time to come.

The Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights Boris Titov said Russia has realized that the two countries have not made full use of their potential and opportunities in economic cooperation. Therefore, Vietnam and Russia should promote their partnership, and specific measures are needed to address issues of mutual concern, he said.

On behalf of the Vietnamese business circle, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc reported that trade between Vietnam and Russia has developed strongly with an average growth of 30 percent a year after the signing of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union.

Two-way trade turnover rose by 28.6 percent year-on-year to reach nearly 4.6 billion USD in 2018, with Russia’s exports valued at 2.44 billion USD.

At present, Russia is the 24th largest foreign investors in Vietnam with 123 projects and 932 million USD in registered capital.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has 22 investment projects in Russia with total capital of nearly 3 billion USD.

Loc highlighted the dairy cow farming and milk processing projects invested by TH True Milk in Moscow and Kaluga as the bright examples in Vietnam-Russia relations.  

Vietnam is currently the 23rd biggest trade partner of Russia globally, the largest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the sixth in APEC, Loc said, stressing that those figures demonstrated that bilateral ties have been growing strongly based on not only traditional advantages but also new opportunities./.