Russia, Vietnam desire stronger strategic partnership

On November 25, Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong and his delegation arrived in Sochi- a resort city where they met President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev who is also the President of the United Russia Party. 

During talks with President Putin, both sides extolled the bilateral cooperation in recent years, the progress of major projects between the two countries, and compared notes on measures to boost bilateral cooperation in various areas as well as regional and global issues of shared concern.

Their discussions were also focused on the Vietnamese community in Russia and people-to-people exchange. They expressed their desire for enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership,thus contributing to regional and global peace and prosperity.

Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong (L) and President Vladimir Putin

Meeting with the Vietnamese delegation, Prime Minister Medvedev described Trong’s visit as a driving force for elevating the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level and providing an opportunity for both nations to consolidate political trust, bilateral cooperation and relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the ruling United Russia Party.

The Party chief emphasized Vietnam’s unwavering policy of respecting and promoting its comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia and considering Russia its most important and trusted partner while affirming the CPV’s wish to boost its friendship and cooperation with the United Russia Party.

The Vietnamese delegation holding talks with Prime Minister Medvedev

The two leaders agreed to raise two-way trade volume to US$7 billion by 2015 and US$10 billion by 2020. Russia pledged to speed up Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

They expressed their satisfaction with the effective bilateral cooperation in energy, deeming this a key area of strategic importance to both nations. They consented to create favorable conditions for each country’s oil and gas businesses to operate on their territory and conduct oil and gas exploration and exploitation on Vietnam’s continental shelf in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Both sides concurred to speed up negotiations for a cooperative agreement on expanding and modernizing the Dung Quay Oil Refinery. In the area of nuclear power, Russia said it will cooperate closely with Vietnam in the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant construction project by helping the country build a legal framework for project implementation and training Vietnamese managers, engineers, and experts.

Trong asked Russia to create the best possible conditions for the Vietnamese community to receive necessary papers to live and work in Russia in line with Russian law and work hand in hand with Vietnamese agencies to settle issues related to the Vietnamese community in Russia on the basis of the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

He also suggested the Prime Minister and government of Russia facilitate the operations of the Culture and Trade Center (INCENTRA) in Russia, the building of a Center of Traditional Medicine for the treatment of Vietnamese and Russian patients, and the opening of a Vietnam- Vladivostok direct air route.

The Party leader reiterated Vietnam’s eagerness to support Russia in its role in ensuring peace, stability, security, and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and Southeast East Asia.

Russian PM Medvedev said Russia will back Vietnam’s bid for membership at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the 2016-2018 tenure and non-permanent membership at the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.  

Concerning the East Sea issue, the two leaders emphasized the need to resolve maritime disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) toward finalizing a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).