Vietnam, Russia Agree to Boost Economic and Strategic Cooperation
Moscow, The Gulf Observer: Party General Secretary and President of Vietnam Tô Lâm and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin have agreed to inject fresh momentum into bilateral cooperation in economic, trade, transport, energy, science and technology sectors.
The meeting was held in Moscow on Tuesday during Tô Lâm’s State visit to Russia, as the two countries seek to translate their longstanding comprehensive strategic partnership into more concrete projects and stronger economic ties.
Mishustin warmly welcomed Tô Lâm and the high-level Vietnamese delegation, expressing confidence that the visit would mark a new milestone in bilateral relations.
Tô Lâm thanked the Russian leadership, Government and people for their warm reception and conveyed an invitation from Vietnamese Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng to Mishustin to visit Vietnam at a convenient time.
The Vietnamese leader commended the role of the two governments in implementing agreements and orientations reached by their senior leaders, and called for closer coordination and more effective use of existing cooperation mechanisms, particularly the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation.
The two sides welcomed progress in bilateral cooperation across trade, investment, science and technology, education and training, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. They also noted that several difficulties previously identified by the two countries’ leaders had moved towards resolution.
Both sides agreed to make fuller use of existing bilateral mechanisms and consider establishing new mechanisms and specialised working groups in areas with significant cooperation potential.
Tô Lâm and Mishustin called for a breakthrough in economic and trade relations, highlighting the complementary strengths of the two economies and encouraging businesses from both countries to expand investment and commercial activities.
Tô Lâm called for stronger and more balanced two-way investment. Citing the successful investment of Vietnamese dairy group TH in Russia, he encouraged Vietnamese enterprises to explore greater investment in Russian agriculture while calling on Russian companies to expand investment in Vietnamese industry.
Mishustin emphasised the importance of improving transport and logistics connectivity to facilitate the expansion of bilateral trade. He proposed that the two countries explore measures to improve maritime, rail and multimodal transport, strengthen supply chains and facilitate the movement of goods.
Tô Lâm agreed on the need to establish new strategic connectivity through cooperation in railways, maritime transport and aviation.
He called on the Russian Government to direct relevant ministries and agencies to continue reviewing and resolving obstacles affecting economic, trade and investment cooperation, including issues concerning tariffs, quotas, transport, logistics and market access.
The Vietnamese leader also urged measures to increase the presence of Vietnamese products and businesses in the Russian market.
Noting that Vietnam was the first country to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Russia is a member, Tô Lâm called on Moscow to encourage other EAEU members to further open their markets, remove trade barriers and eliminate the threshold-based trade defence mechanism applied to Vietnamese goods.
On energy cooperation, the two sides praised the effectiveness of bilateral oil and gas projects, describing them as tangible examples of successful Vietnam-Russia cooperation.
Russia expressed its readiness to continue developing energy cooperation with Vietnam in both traditional areas and emerging fields aligned with the development priorities of the two countries.
The two leaders also identified science and technology as an area with substantial potential to become a new driver of bilateral relations. They agreed to explore expanded cooperation in emerging fields, including new energy and biomedical technologies.
Tô Lâm encouraged the two countries to make greater use of Russia’s strengths in basic science, engineering and technology to support Vietnam’s rapid and sustainable development.
He also called for Russian support in training high-quality human resources in sectors where Russia has specialised expertise and Vietnam has growing demand.
The two sides further agreed to strengthen cooperation in culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, particularly among younger generations, to deepen their understanding of the history and longstanding traditions underpinning Vietnam-Russia relations.
Mishustin expressed confidence that Tô Lâm’s State visit and his forthcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin would provide fresh impetus to bilateral relations and help identify strategic directions for Vietnam-Russia ties in the new period.
He affirmed that the Russian Government would work closely with the Vietnamese Government to effectively implement agreements reached by the two countries’ senior leaders and translate political orientations into concrete programmes, projects and practical outcomes.
