Vietnam, Russia seek to foster economic- trade ties

Moscow (VNA) – A workshop to promote economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia at the Hanoi – Moscow trade centre on December 22.

Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh, in his opening remarks, highlighted the positive results of the Vietnam – Russia economic and trade cooperation in 2020.

Despite severe impacts posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade ties became a bright spot in the bilateral relations as two-way trade hitting 4.05 billion USD in the first ten months of 2020, up 7.02 percent year-on-year, he said.

The diplomat emphasized the importance for the two sides to continue maintaining and creating more motivation for further fostering bilateral trade, as well as incorporate their strengths to create greater benefits, thus contributing to strengthening the Vietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

He also pointed out some areas with great potential for cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, including agriculture, dairy farming, and dairy product processing, and forming new value chains in fishery cooperation, hi-technology and information.

Dr. Irina Korgun from the Centre for Russian Strategy under the Institute of Economics in the Russian Academy of Sciences said Vietnam’s participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is an opportunity that Russia can take advantage of to promote supply of goods to Asian markets through establishing joint ventures in manufacturing and services, as well as increase its presence in Asia.

Meanwhile, Regina Budarina from the Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Association's business centre stressed the need for the Russian side to develop its logistics infrastructure in Vietnam, including transit ports and cold storages, in order to improve competitiveness of Russian businesses in the Southeast Asian nation.

According to Igor Tsybin, Managing Director of the Russian-Vietnamese Business Council, by moving up 14 places to rank 69th among 190 economies in the World Bank's Doing Business 2018 and among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of foreign direct investment efficiency index in 2020, Vietnam became an attractive destination for Russian investors, with its advantages such as political stability, large market, low electricity price and labour costs, stable inflation rate, and open economy.

The event offered a venue for representatives from the two sides to understand each other's needs and strengths, clearly identify opportunities and challenges that may affect the two countries' economic and trade cooperation in the coming time.

Participants proposed solutions and recommendations on models and areas for future cooperation towards promoting the economic and trade cooperation between the two nations./.