HCM CITY — There is huge potential for co-operation between Việt Nam and Tatarstan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, in many sectors, its leader has said.

President Rustam Minnikhanov, speaking at the Việt Nam-Tatarstan Business Forum in HCM City on Monday, listed oil refining and petrochemicals, energy, machinery manufacturing, automobile and auto part production, IT, high technology, pharmaceuticals, and industrial and agricultural clusters.

Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed regions in Russia, he said.

Its oil sector is highly developed, he said.

“We also produce automobiles, helicopters, aircraft, sea vessels, and machinery.

“We export 50 per cent of our industrial goods.”

In Việt Nam, many people know its hi-tech products such as KAMAZ trucks and Mi-17 helicopters, he said.

The Zelenodolsk plant in Tatarstan has built four Gepard-class frigates for Việt Nam’s navy, with two delivered already and the other two expected to be delivered late next year, he said.

Aleksey Popov, consul general of the Russian Federation in HCM City, said the Việt Nam – Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) free trade agreement, which took effect in October last year, has greatly helped boost trade between Việt Nam and Russia.

Bilateral trade went up by 20 per cent in the first half of this year and is expected to continue rising, he said.

Speaking at the forum, Lê Thanh Liêm, deputy chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, said the city, Việt Nam’s economic hub, is striving to become an economic, financial, trade, and science and technology hub.

“To achieve the target, in addition to its internal strengths, the city needs foreign investment in many sectors, especially in four key sectors – food and foodstuff processing, chemical-rubber, mechanical engineering, electronics and IT.

The city faces challenges such as overloaded infrastructure, flooding and impacts of climate change, he said.

“Therefore, the city needs to join forces with foreign businesses, including those from Russia and Tatarstan, to develop in a sustainable manner.”

The forum was attended by 13 Tatarstan business executives from the banking, agricultural, IT, transportation, airport services, and medical services sectors.

These are key sectors for a city of more than 10 million people, and a potential market for Tatarstan businesses, he said.

Trade between Tatarstan and Việt Nam was worth US$60 million last year, more than double the 2015 value.

The Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City branch and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan signed a memorandum of understanding to further promote trade in each other’s market. — VNS