Moscow (VNA) – Vietnam is a reliable partner ofRussia, affirmed Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vycheslav Volodin whileco-chairing the first meeting of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary CooperationCommitteetogether with Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi KimNgan in Moscow on December 11.

Speaking at the event, Vycheslav Volodin noted that Russiaand Vietnam shared a traditional friendship as well as a trustworthy and closepartnership.

Noting that leaders from both sides have maintained regularmeetings, he held that along with government channel, other cooperation modelsare available to boost bilateral collaboration.

He underlined the need to promote their economic partnershipas the two sides have yet to reach the goal of 10 billion USD in two-way trade.In 2018, the figure was 6 billion USD, and is likely to be lower in 2019.

He suggested that participants at the meeting seek ways toremove obstacles to facilitate bilateral trade ties, including the speeding upof investment projects in each country.

Members of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-ParliamentaryCooperation Committee should review the outcomes of collaboration between thetwo countries and seek measures for stronger ties, while focusing more oncooperation in the digital economy and other specific economic areas, alongwith education-training and culture, he said.

He noted that Vietnam ranks third among countries sending studentsto Russia, while the Southeast Asian country is becoming increasinglyattractive to Russian tourists. In 2019 and 2020, the two countries have organisedthe Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam.

Russian firms hope to engage deeper in efforts to  developbilateral economic relations, he said.

The leader of the Russian State Duma expressed his hope thatduring the meeting, the two sides will discuss measures to remove obstacleshindering the implementation of joint projects and create an optimal businessenvironment for enterprises from both sides.

He also stressed the need for the two legislative bodies tobolster cooperation.

For her part, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said thatthe establishment of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary CooperationCommittee in December 2018 during her visit to Russia was an importantmilestone in the partnership between the Vietnamese NA and the State Duma ofRussia.

So far, the two sides have conducted various activities toexchange experience and coordinate at regional and internationalinter-parliamentary forums, especially Asia-Europe cooperation mechanisms aswell as the implementation of international conventions of which both countriesare signature parties.

The first meeting of the committee is a chance forparliamentarians of Vietnam and Russia to review the outcomes of theircooperation over the years, evaluate the role of the two parliaments infostering Vietnam-Russia ties in all fields, and discuss future cooperationorientations.She proposed that Vietnam will host the next meeting of thecommittee.

The top legislator agreed with Volodin’s idea that at thenext meeting, the two sides will form working groups for discussion ofdifferent issues.

She expressed her pleasure at the fruitful partnershipbetween Vietnam and Russia over the past 70 years, but pointed out that two-waytrade has yet to meet their target. She stressed the need to expand bilateraltrade ties to match the potential of both sides.

Currently, Russia ranks 24th out of 132 countriesand territories investing in Vietnam with 129 valid projects. Meanwhile,Vietnam is running 15 projects in Russia with total investment of 2.83 billionUSD, making Russia the second biggest destination for Vietnamese investorsabroad.

Bilaterally, the Vietnam-Russia Inter-ParliamentaryCooperation Committee is the highest parliamentary cooperation mechanism andthe first that Vietnam has set up with another country.

Ngan said she believes that the meeting will help complete alegal corridor to boost the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership./.