Vietnam, Russia solidify comprehensive strategic partnership

The affirmation was made at talks in Hanoi on April 6 between Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

PM Dung highlighted the Russian government delegation’s visit as a historic event of great significance when both nations are celebrating the 65^th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

He expressed the conviction that the visit will add fresh impetus to consolidating and developing the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung (R) and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. (Photo:VGP)

The two PMs informed each other about the political and socio-economic situation and external policy in their respective country and compared notes on international and regional issues of shared concern.

On political relations, they underlined the need to maintain all-level delegation exchanges, diversify cooperation channels and offer mutual support at international forums.

The pair reviewed the implementation of key cooperation projects on investment, trade, oil & gas, nuclear power and military technology, and suggested accelerating the official signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union by the first half of this year aiming to elevate bilateral trade volume to US$10 billion by 2020. 

Bilateral investment is still far from matching the two nations’ full potential, both PMs noted, adding that the high-level joint working group on the Vietnam-Russia priotized investment projects headed by the two Ministers of industry and Trade should play a crucial role in identifying investment areas and effectively implement select projects.

They praised ministries, sectors and relevant agencies for bolstering cooperation in oil & gas, nuclear power, mining industry and agriculture, and proposed speeding up the implementation of the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant project.

They hailed bilateral defence-security relations, especially in military technology and personnel training, pledging to work towards closer and more effective collaboration in this field. 

Both sides agreed to work out a plan to set up a seafood and wood processing joint venture firm in the Far East region of Russia and expand bilateral affiliation in science-technology, education-training, culture and tourism with a view to deepening all-sided cooperation between Vietnam and Russia.

They held that all disputes in the East Sea should be handled peacefully according to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Constitution on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

PM Dung thanked Russian administration and authorities for facilitating the Vietnamese community’s living conditions and believed that the community would continue to serve as a bridge for the promotion of the friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

On the eve, PM Dmitry Medvedev invited Dung to visit Russia and his invitation was accepted with great pleasure. The date for the trip will be arranged through diplomatic channels.

After their talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on energy, investment, banking and transport.

At a reception for the Russian Prime Minister on the same day, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung expressed his belief that the visit would contribute to fostering the trusted strategic partnership between the two countries.

Vietnam never forget the valuable assistance of Russia and treasures their bilateral ties, he told his guest.

He also reiterated Vietnam's strong support for agreements between the two governments,saying that the NA will intensify its monitoring to ensure effective implementation of the agreements between the two countries.

PM Medvedev in turn applauded Vietnam’s tremendous achievements over recent years, expressing his hope that the bilateral ties will continue to grow in the time ahead.

The Russian Government and parliament will back and cooperate with Vietnam at international and regional forums, he said. 

He also called for closer cooperation between two countries, people-to-people exchanges as well as enhanced connection between businesses to expand trade links between Russia and Vietnam.