Vladivostok Port in Russia's Far East region. — AFP/VNA Photo

MOSCOW — A roundtable discussing prospects for trade cooperation between Việt Nam and Russia's Far East region was held by the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) in Vladivostok on June 15.

Participants heard that Việt Nam recorded a strong economic rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, and experienced a growth of 8.02 per cent in 2022. The Southeast Asian nation welcomed 3.7 million foreign tourists in the year.

The workshop also highlighted the significant cooperation between the two countries in the oil and gas sector, exemplified by the two joint ventures, VietsovPetro in Việt Nam and RusVietPetro in Russia.

In his speech, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Vladivostok Nguyễn Đăng Hiền stressed that Việt Nam's efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability and improve the investment environment have helped the country become a reliable destination for foreign investors.

There remained huge potential for the two countries to expand trade and tourism cooperation, he said, noting that it was necessary to resume direct flights between Việt Nam and Russia and set up tourism promotion offices in each country.

The Russian government might also consider visa exemptions for Vietnamese tourists for 15 days to stimulate tourism demand, he added.

Meanwhile, the chief of the Vietnam trade mission in the Far East Nguyễn Hồng Thanh said the region played an important role in the Russian government's "pivot to the East" policy.

According to Thanh, the most prominent event in the economic and trade relations between the Far East region and Việt Nam is the resumption of a container shipping route by FESCO to deliver goods from Hải Phòng and HCM City of Việt Nam to Russia, and vice versa.

FESCO is planning to build a transshipment point at HCM City port to forward Russian goods to further markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and India and vice versa.

Besides FESCO, other operators such as OOO Transit and AO Transinergi have also started operating maritime routes from the Far East to Việt Nam.

Thanh said that the Far East would be a good investment destination for Vietnamese businesses if there is a channel to provide sufficient information for the Vietnamese business community.

Vietnamese enterprises could consider cooperating with partners in the Far East region in potential fields such as civil and industrial construction, furniture production, coal and mineral mining, high-tech development, and food processing. — VNS