Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrey G. Kovtun said stepping up cooperation with Vietnam is one of Russia’s priorities in its foreign policy towards Asia. The Ambassador made the statement at a press conference held in Hanoi on December 25 to review the development of the strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam in 2013. The bilateral ties have seen a dynamic development with various high-ranking meetings, including Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s tour to Russia in May and President Vladimir Putin’s official visit to Vietnam in November. The diplomat also said the regular exchange of delegations reflected the depth of the bilateral ties and the two sides’ determination to accelerate cooperation in various fields, including politics, economics, trade and investment.
The two-way trade amounted to US$3.15 billion this year, up 2 percent compared with the same period of 2012. Of the amount, Vietnam’s export value was US$2.24 billion, a 20.5 percent increase. Both countries have expected to increase the two-way trade to $7 billion by 2015 and $10 billion by 2020. In addition, bilateral cooperation in other fields, including energy, national defense and security, culture-education, tourism, science and technology have also brought good results, contributing to promoting the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership. As regards negotiations for a free trade agreement between the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and Vietnam in 2013, he said the two sides have worked together to speed up establishing a mutually-beneficial pact. The free trade agreement, once signed and applied, will help boost commodity exchanges, investment and technology transfer between the related parties.
The Ambassador expressed his hope that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in line with their interest and economic and technological conditions, contributing to maintaining and promoting peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific area.