Russian expert: 'Vietnam is Russia's natural partner in its Eastward policy'

Expert Ivan Timofeev said that Vietnam is Russia's natural partner in its Eastward policy. (Photo: Tran Hieu/VNA)

Russian experts said it was no coincidence that this year's Valdai Conference had the theme "Dawn of the East and world political order".

The reason is that Russia attaches great importance to the Asia-Pacific region and over the past 10 years, Russia has actively promoted integration with Asia, establishing cooperation with many countries in the region. Russia has political and military strengths and can make many proposals to this region.

Referring to the role of ASEAN in general and Vietnam in particular in Russia's Eastward policy, expert Ivan Timofeev quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement, emphasizing that ASEAN is an important factor with a central role in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to expert Ivan Timofeev, Vietnam is a natural partner for Russia in its Eastward policy for various reasons.

First of all, the two countries have a good history of traditional partnership. Although there has been a generational change with the youth of both countries having broader and more diverse visions in many different directions, it is this good tradition that has greatly contributed to bilateral relations.

Second, Vietnam is a large and dynamic economy, with a large market and abundant labor potential. Moreover, Vietnamese people are highly organized and creative.

Dr. Ivan Timofeev affirmed: “Your country has a promising future, both in terms of economy and technological production. Therefore, there is a large space for cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in particular, and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in general. We need to remember that Vietnam is the first country to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EAEU”.

In addition, according to Russian experts, the potential for bilateral cooperation in the military and military-technical fields as well as in the fields of energy and oil and gas exploitation is also very promising, not only with Russian investment in Vietnam, but also with Vietnam's investment in Russia.

Experts from the Russian Council on International Affairs expressed their belief that Vietnam will effectively implement a balanced, multilateral and independent policy in the context of the current complicated world situation./.