The visit was made at the invitation of the Russian President, Vladimir V.Putin, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He will hold talks and meetings with President Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and many other senior leaders of Russia.

The Vietnamese President is scheduled to visit the autonomous region of Nhenhetsky where he will attend a ceremony to welcome the first oil flow pumped from an oilfield by the joint venture RusVietpetro.

The strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia has developed well over the years based on the regular exchange visits by top leaders of the two countries, as well as their strategic dialogues on diplomacy, security and national defence.

Bilateral economic, investment and trade ties have also grown and flourished. Despite the global economic slowdown, two-way trade last year hit US$1.98 billion, up 8 percent against 2010.

Russia has so far poured nearly 1 billion into 78 investment projects in Vietnam, ranking 23^rd amongst foreign investors in the country.

Vietnamese investment in Russia also rose from more than US$100 million in 2008 to US$776 million as of May 2012.