A grand welcome ceremony for Russian Prime Minister Medvedev.

This morning, April 6th, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung presided over the welcoming ceremony for Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's official visit to Vietnam in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

A solemn welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation took place at the Presidential Palace.

The two Prime Ministers bowed before the national flags of their respective countries.

Reviewing the honor guard

Accompanying Prime Minister Medvedev were Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Russian Government Office Prikhodko SE, Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Far East Trutnhev YP, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Vietnam Vnukov KV, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Manturov DV, Russian Minister of Energy Novak AV, and many other high-ranking officials of the Russian Government.

Prior to the official welcoming ceremony, Prime Minister Medvedev laid a wreath at the Monument to the Heroes and Martyrs, and also laid a wreath and paid respects at the Mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh.

Prime Minister Medvedev visited and offered incense at the Bac Son Martyrs' Memorial and paid respects at President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

Afterwards, in a warm and friendly atmosphere, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Russian Prime Minister Medvedev held talks.

This afternoon, following the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents and had a brief meeting with the press. Later that day, he will meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang, hold a meeting with National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, and witness the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation for the period 2015-2017 between the United Russia Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam.

On April 7th, Prime Minister Medvedev will meet with leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and hold a dialogue with Vietnamese and Russian businesses.

The visit is expected to elevate the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new level.

Regarding the content of the visit, Prime Minister Medvedev stated that the Russian government has many ideas and plans to promote the strategic partnership with Vietnam to a new level. These include a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union; exploring new and promising forms of cooperation such as joint oil and gas processing, not just extraction; and jointly utilizing various incentive mechanisms to foster cooperative development.

The two Prime Ministers entered into talks, promising to discuss many new ideas to promote comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

The Russian Prime Minister said he hoped his visit to Vietnam would yield practical results aimed at completing the FTA negotiations and signing it officially in the first half of this year. He also said he would raise the issue of Russian-Vietnamese trade transactions being settled in the national currencies of both countries during the talks.

According to NLDO/Infonet