Moscow (VNA) –Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Russian counterpart DmitryMedvedev co-chaired a joint press conference following their talks in Moscow onMay 22, noting that they agreed to continue diversifying cooperative relations,especially in economy, trade and new spheres.

According to PM Medvedev, the two sidesdiscussed many measures to promote cooperation, especially in the fields ofeconomy, trade and investment. They expressed their delight at the tradepartnership that has been growing strongly, dynamically and stably over thepast years.

In the time ahead, the two countries will stepup cooperative ties in energy and industrial production and create favourableconditions for oil and gas collaboration between Gazprom and the Vietnam Oiland Gas Group (PetroVietnam). They will also boost cooperation in foodproduction.

PM Medvedev spoke highly of operations of theVietnam-Russia Tropical Centre, which has greatly contributed to bilateralrelations. The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in space science, henoted.

The Russia leader also highlighted traditionalconnections between Vietnam and Russia, adding that more than 600,000 touristsfrom his country have visited the Southeast Asian nation, and over 50,000Vietnamese have studied and done research in Russia to date.

For his part, PM Phuc, who is on an officialvisit to Russia from May 20-23, expressed his special sentiments towards Russiaand its people, hailing the strong and positive changes in all aspects of thecountry.

He affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy oftreasuring the profound trust and comprehensive strategic partnership withRussia. He also asserted the determination to develop bilateral relations in aresult-oriented and sustainable manner in all fields, thus benefiting bothnations.

Informing about the talks, the Vietnamese PMsaid the two sides agreed to strengthen efforts to maintain peace andstability, ensure security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation forcooperation and development, and peacefully resolve disputes in Asia-Pacific,including the East Sea.

Vietnam highly values and hopes that Russiawould continue active contributions to the maintenance of regional and globalpeace, security and stability, PM Phuc said at the press conference.

Afterwards, the two PMswitnessed the signing of 14 cooperation documents between ministries, sectors,localities and businesses of Vietnam and Russia.

Also on May 22, PM Phuc attended a ceremony markingthe inaugural operation of the Vietnamese-invested T&T Russia Co. Ltd inMoscow.

Through this subsidiary,Vietnam’s T&T Group aims to research Russia’s advanced technologies inagriculture, industry, healthcare and services to apply in Vietnam, whilepartnering with major local firms to implement projects in the fields ofRussia’s strength like clean energy, industry, healthcare and agriculture.

It looks to boost the export of Vietnam’sagricultural products such as tra and basa fish, shrimps, vegetables, fruits,pepper and cashew nuts, along with electronic devices and consumer goods, toRussia. The group will also seek high-quality products of Russia, includingfrozen poultry meat, dairy products, nutritional supplements and industrialproducts, to distribute in Vietnam through its supermarkets.

Earlier, the T&T Group had been licensed toinvest 25 million USD in Russia.-VNA