Vietnam and Russia: For a bright future
2019 is such an important year in Vietnam – Russia relation. The two naitons will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on fundamental principles of the Viet Nam-Russian Federation friendly relations.
On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, Russia’ Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov said that Russia-Vietnam relations are waiting for a bright future, based on a close and friendly relationship during the past 70 years.
Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov
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The ambassador said that the recent visit of Prime Minister Medvedev took place just months after the successful visit of Vietnam’s General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to Russia. This visit enabled the two sides to promote seriously the implementation of joint projects with the aim to expand trade and investment.
The two sides have successfully negotiated cooperation in the fields of banking, agriculture, liquefied natural gas, hydrocarbon exploitation in Vietnam and expansion of urban transport network. The construction of the TH True Milk complex in Kaluga, which is located 100 km from Moscow, laid the foundation and became a real symbol of new cooperation in the Russian-Vietnamese relationship.
In addition, according to the ambassador, the agreements reached in the fields of education, science and technology, including the completion of the operation of the Tropical Center and Construction the Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam, are meaningful. Moreover, 24 Russian and Vietnamese universities have signed direct cooperation agreements.
In terms of culture, the two countries have approved the implementation of the Year of the Cross celebration - Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam in 2019.
Enhancing new growth points
Konstantin Vnukov ambassador confirmed that the prospect of Russia-Vietnam economic and trade cooperation is great. First of all, the implementation of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) not only increases the trade turnover but also contributes to diversify the trade structure between the two countries to become balanced and varied. As a result, there are new "growth points."
Specifically, according to Russian statistics, in 2017, the volume of bilateral trade increased by more than a third, reaching US$5.2 billion. This fact will strengthen Vietnam's position in Russia's list of the largest trading partners in ASEAN.
From January to August 2018, bilateral trade also increased by 20%. The number of items which was supplied from Russia to the Vietnamese market increased significantly, including ferrous metals, fertilizers, wheat, maize, candy, vegetable oil, fertilizer and paper. Russia has also increased goods imported from Vietnam such as mobile phones and telephone accessories, home appliances, textiles, rubber, coffee, fish and seafood. 2018 also marked another record for Russian tourists entering Vietnam, at around 600,000 people.
Shaping and overcoming difficulties
In addition to these positive signals, the ambassdor also recognizes the current difficulties in economic cooperation between the two nations. These include significant logistical costs of supplying goods, due to large geographical distance, underdeveloped transport infrastructure, and a number of other technical barriers. In addition, the communication between the Russian and Vietnamese business community is limited.
Therefore, the ambassador emphasized that Russia is ready to cooperate closely with Vietnamese partners to solve the difficulties. Russia is aware that bilateral trade-investment indicators are still very modest and do not match the potential and capabilities of the two countries. Hence, government bodies as well as businessmen from Russia and Vietnam need to continue working uninterruptedly to promote the development of Vietnam-Russia cooperation in the economic field.
“I can assure you that the will to develop the Russian-Vietnamese relationship is shared by the senior leaders of Russia, as well as representatives of all branches and levels of political system from the Russian legislature, executive and judiciary branches. This will also be widely supported in the Russian society. There is a fact that your country, history, culture, cuisine and language are becoming more and more popular with Russians”, Ambassador Konstantin Vnukov said.
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