Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Nguyen Thanh Son (Source: Laodong) The diplomat noted that Vietnam is a reliable and traditional partner ofRussia. Vietnam, located in an important maritime route connecting Russia andAsia-Pacific, was also the first to sign a trade agreement with the EurasianEconomic Community (EAEC) of which Russia is a member.
Vietnam and Russia set up their strategic partnership in 2001 andupgraded it to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012.
The two sides have worked together at multilateral forums such as theUnited Nations and within ASEAN-Russia cooperation, contributing to maintainingpeace, stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
Russia has supported Vietnam’s hosting of the APEC 2017, said theambassador.
Vietnam and Russia have also supported settling territorial disputes inthe East Sea through peaceful means based on international law, including the 1982UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the spirit of the Declarationon the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, aiming to build a Code of Conduct inthe East Sea.
Both sides agreed that members of the UNCLOS must abide by theirobligations stated in the document.
At the same time, Vietnam and Russia have developed defence-security andmilitary technology cooperation, said Ambassador Son who added that economiccollaboration between the two countries has been strengthened with four keypillars of trade, investment, oil and gas and electricity.
Nearly 60,000 Vietnamese people reside in Russia, along with some 3,000Vietnamese studying in Russia.
Regarding benefits from the free trade agreement between Vietnam and theEAEC, which became effective on October 5, 2016, the diplomatic said that thedeal enabled Vietnam to access a 183 million-strong market with total GDP ofnearly 2.2 trillion USD.
Along with favourable conditions created by the agreement, the RussianGovernment has offered preferential policies to Vietnamese firms, especially inagriculture and consumer goods production.
The deal has pushed two-way trade between Vietnam and Russia to 1.37billion USD since October 2016, a rise of 27.2 percent year on year, with a 28.4percent rise in Vietnam’s exports.
In terms of education, Son asserted that Russia is a good choice forVietnamese students who wish to study abroad. Russia is Vietnam’s largestscholarship provider and every eyear, the Russian Government increases thenumber of scholarships for Vietnam.
Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Son said President Tran Dai Quang’s upcomingvisit will reinforce mutual trust, marking progress in bilateral cooperation.-VNA
VNA
