Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Đặng Hoàng An delivers a speech at the dialogue. — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese and Russian businesses need to further boost cooperation in the field of renewable energy, circular economy, green development, digital transformation and supporting industry.

The comment was made at a two-day business dialogue between Việt Nam and Russia which opened in Hà Nội on Thursday. The event was held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation to promote business and investment cooperation between Vietnamese and Russian enterprises in the industrial sector.

Nearly 70 Russian businesses participated in the event, mostly in the field of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, mining, oil and gas, machinery and transport equipment, shipbuilding and ship repair, technology and electrical equipment, and information technology.

Opening the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Đặng Hoàng An said the dialogue was an opportunity for ministries and agencies of both countries to grasp the reality of businesses’ demand so as to outline suitable solutions for enterprises of both sides.

Deputy Minister An also recalled that the foundation of industrial cooperation between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation was built a century ago. The two countries established the Inter-governmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technical Cooperation in 1992 and the first oil and gas joint venture known as Vietsopetro was born in 1993, and the construction of the Hòa Bình Hydropower Plant was completed in 1994.

Since then, the bilateral cooperation mechanism has been completed with many documents signed between the two countries. The intergovernmental agreements on projects in the oil and gas field, and many cooperation documents were signed at ministerial and local levels in every economic sector. An noted that the above documents were key to enhancing cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, industry and many others.

Data reported by the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that as of November 2022, the Russian Federation has 164 investment projects in Việt Nam worth US$965.8 million and ranked 27th out of 141 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam. Meanwhile, Việt Nam has invested in 16 projects in the Russian Federation with a registered capital of more than $1.6 billion.

Cooperative potential

However, Deputy Minister An emphasised that the above figures remained quite modest given the potential and cooperation relationship between the two countries.

He said Việt Nam’s future direction was to produce electricity from renewable energy, and develop domestic industries, renewable energy facilities with a view to minimising reliance on imports and reducing local production costs.

An proposed both Vietnamese and Russian businesses focus on doing more research on renewable energy. This would be a new direction for bilateral cooperation.

In the industrial sector, Việt Nam would offer priorities to develop and restructure local industry by working towards modernisation. Prioritised industries would be processing and manufacturing industry, electronics, telecommunications, digital technology, new and renewable energy, said An.

Russian Ambassador to Việt Nam Bezdetko Gennady Stepanovich said Việt Nam and Russia had a longstanding and traditional relationship. And the Russian Federation was also a strategic economic partner of Việt Nam for many years.

Affirming the great relations in trade and economics, Ambassador Bezdetko hoped that this dialogue would create great momentum for the cooperation between the two countries’ businesses.

Nosov Sergey Sergeyevich, director of the department of the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, told participants that this forum has shown the interests of the two governments in promoting bilateral relations. This move would generate great impetus for the cooperation relationship between businesses of the two sides.

He hoped that through panel discussions, the two sides would find more solutions to assist businesses in connecting and working effectively and further promote the bilateral relationship and take advantage of the existing potentials so as to bring the two countries’ relations to a new high.

The forum concluded Friday in Hà Nội. — VNS