Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on Monday, during an official visit to the European country.

PM Medvedev expressed his appreciation toward his Vietnamese counterpart for choosing Russia to be his first overseas trip after his appointment in early April.

The Russian head of government praised PM Phuc’s visit, saying that Vietnam has always been one of Russia’s most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

The visit by the Vietnamese premier confirmed that Hanoi has always considered Moscow a good friend, with Vietnamese leaders and their people having complete trust in the European nation.

The trip is aimed at cementing a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations and figuring out measures to boost results of bilateral cooperation, according to Phuc.

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with the growing political trust between the two nations, and agreed on conducting more regular exchanges between high-ranking officials of the two Parties, governments, states, parliaments, as well as local councils to maintain the efficiency of the current dialogue.

They believed that a successful outcome of the visit would create a new impulse to enhance the comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Russia.

Regarding collaboration in economics and trade, the two parties reached the consensus that efforts should be exerted to address the drop in bilateral trade, including providing more favorable conditions for import and export businesses, promoting trade, encouraging payment via domestic currencies, and leveraging the advantages brought by the Eurasian Economic Union and other free trade agreements.

The premiers praised the fact that authorities of both nations had been active in expediting cooperative projects in energy, oil and gas, agriculture, and others.

Amid challenges to both economies, the two countries could provide more assistance for both Vietnamese and Russian petroleum enterprises and create more opportunities for cooperation in petrochemical, liquefied gas production, as well as expanding collaboration with other nations.

PM Phuc and Medvedev also agreed to continue the two countries’ effective ties in defense and security, and to boost cooperation in science and technology, education and training, culture, tourism, labor, and others.

With regard to situations in the East Vietnam Sea, the two heads of government asserted that all disputes should be settled via peaceful measures as per international law, namely the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC), and to establish a Code of Conduct for the maritime area.

They also promised to assist each other in such multilateral forums as the United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) among others.

The Vietnamese premier extended his gratitude toward Russian authorities for supporting Vietnamese citizens living in the European country, believing that such a community would be a significant contribution to the relationship between Hanoi and Moscow.

He congratulated Russia on being the chair of the ASEAN-Russia Summit, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of dialogue between the two parties, and hoped that the event would be a success, bridging the relationship to a new level.

ASEAN is short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a political and economic organization whose members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

At the end of the talks, PM Phuc invited his Russian counterpart to pay an official visit to Vietnam in the near future.

The two leaders also attended the signing ceremonies of several agreements between Vietnamese and Russian corporations after their meeting.

PM Phuc is scheduled to meet with president of the State Duma and the Russian Federation Council, and pay a visit to the Embassy of Vietnam and some local petroleum corporations on Tuesday.

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