Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is on a two-day visit to Vietnam to discuss with leaders of the host country measures of promoting bilateral relations in all areas, especially energy.

After arriving in Hanoi on July 24, the Russian Minister met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem, President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The two foreign ministers agreed that Vietnam-Russia bilateral relations have remarkably developed, especially in exchanges of high-ranking delegations.

Minister Pham Gia Khiem thanked the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian diplomatic missions in New York and at other international organisations for their close coordination with Vietnam in dealing with international and regional issues during the time Vietnam was a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Minister Lavrov spoke highly of Vietnam ’s role at multilateral forums, especially at regional organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

He expressed the wish that Russia and Vietnam would continue to closely cooperation on international arena for the sake of peace, cooperation and development in the world.

The two ministers also informed each other of the socio-political situation in each country, measures against the economic crisis and other international and regional issues of mutual concern.

They agreed to boost bilateral trade and investment relations. Minister Khiem said Vietnam encourages Russian investors to join in large energy, infrastruture and high technology projects in Vietnam .

Both sides highly evaluated the effectiveness of the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, particularly the exploration and exploitation of gas and oil in Vietnamese continental shelf.

After the meeting, the two ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and Russia ’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM).

The Vietnamese officials also requested the Russian government to create favourable conditions for the overseas Vietnamese who work and study in Russia , especially at the time of the current world economic crisis.

The two ministers agreed on certain activities to celebrate the 60 th anniversary of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic relations to be held in 2010.

On the occasion, Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem presented the Friendship Medal of the state of Vietnam to Minister Sergei Lavrov for his active contributions to strengthening and developing the traditional relationship and strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia./.