Deepening the Russia-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will pay an official visit to Vietnam from November 18-19 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Currently, the relationship between the Russian Federation and Vietnam is developing well. Russian Prime Minister Medvedev's visit follows the visit of General Secretary and President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong to Russia last September, and is expected to promote the realization of cooperation programs signed by the two sides, bringing many new achievements in the relationship between Russia and Vietnam.

During the visit of Russian Prime Minister D. Medvedev to Vietnam, the two sides are expected to discuss pressing issues in Russia-Vietnam cooperation in trade, investment, industry and energy. In addition, the two sides will review the progress of joint infrastructure projects, high-tech, educational and humanitarian projects, including the organization of cross-years: the Year of Russia in Vietnam and the Year of Vietnam in Russia in 2019, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Fundamental Principles of Vietnam-Russia Friendship Relations (1994-2019) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1950-2020).

The cooperative relationship between Vietnam and the Russian Federation has been tested over time and is developing strongly in both breadth and depth with many great achievements in all fields: Politics, economics, national defense and security, culture, science, education, health, and humanitarian affairs. The political relationship with high trust is increasingly strengthened through the mechanism of regular delegation exchanges and bilateral contacts at all levels, especially at the high level, and the mechanism of consultation and strategic dialogue.

According to the results of the talks between the two leaders, 15 documents were signed on cooperation in the fields of industry, banking and information security. The two sides agreed to create momentum for the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam to take effect. After 2 years of the agreement taking effect, Vietnam - Russia trade turnover reached 3.55 billion USD in 2017, up 31% compared to 2016, and in the first 9 months of 2018 it reached 3.4 billion USD, up 36.8% compared to the same period in 2017.

Then, at the 21st meeting of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation held in Moscow in October, the two sides agreed to review and remove non-tariff barriers in the import and export of goods, especially agricultural, aquatic and seafood products, thereby increasing two-way trade turnover to 10 billion USD by 2020 as the target set by the leaders of the two countries. Regarding finance and banking, the two sides discussed measures to promote bilateral transactions in local currencies.

Investment cooperation between the two countries continues to expand, especially with large investment projects from Vietnam to Russia. A typical example is the TH true Milk Group's high-tech dairy farming and milk processing complex project in Moscow and Kaluga provinces. Many Russian products such as agricultural products, fuel, coal, etc. are exported to Vietnam. In contrast, Vietnam's strong products such as agricultural products, aquatic products, textiles, footwear, etc., are increasingly present in the Russian market.

In the energy sector, the two sides affirmed to continue to facilitate oil and gas projects between the two countries, as well as expand cooperation to other areas such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and electricity. The two sides also focused on discussing prospective transport infrastructure cooperation projects, especially railway transport in Vietnam.

Notably, in recent times, the relationship between localities of the two countries has developed strongly and become more substantial, focusing more on economic, trade, investment, cultural and educational cooperation. Regarding education, in recent years, the Russian government has granted nearly 1,000 scholarships to Vietnamese students to study at universities in Russia, a number higher than during the Soviet era. The fields of tourism, culture and people-to-people exchange continue to be promoted. The two sides regularly organize Cultural Days, Cultural Weeks, exhibitions and seminars to introduce each other's countries and people.

Vietnam-Russia defense and security relations have taken a new step forward, going deeper and more substantial, especially in cooperation on personnel training, weapons and equipment transfer, etc. Vietnam identifies Russia as the most reliable and promising partner in military cooperation.

Vietnam considers Russia as a leading important partner in its foreign policy, and vice versa, Russia ranks Vietnam as the most important partner in Southeast Asia, so the need to expand and strengthen cooperation comes from both sides. The issue is the need to resolutely implement the commitments and agreements signed to bring about new achievements in the cooperative relationship between the two countries.

The visit of Prime Minister D.Medvedev demonstrates the will of the two countries' senior leaders to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam. It is believed that the fourth visit to Vietnam since 2010 by Russian Prime Minister D. Medvedev will bring new results in both political and economic aspects. Political trust continues to be consolidated, bilateral cooperation will be expanded and strengthened. A new positive phase is opening in the cooperation between Russia and Vietnam./.