Russian Ambassador to Việt Nam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko (left) and Phan Anh Sơn, Chairman of the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (right) at the conference in Hà Nội on Wednesday morning.—Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam holds a significant position in Russia's foreign policy, with relations governed by a comprehensive strategic partnership framework.

Russian Ambassador to Việt Nam, Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko, made the statement at the "Modern Russia" conference, organised by the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations in Hà Nội on Wednesday morning.

Ambassador Bezdetko said that this year marked two important anniversaries for Việt Nam and Russia - the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Việt Nam, as well as the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Principles Agreement on friendly relations between the Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam.

“We are pleased with the development of political dialogue between our two countries,” he said.

We are striving to promote cooperation in economic and trade, scientific and technical, military, and humanitarian fields under new geopolitical conditions,” he said.

Speaking at the conference, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Việt Nam Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Kharinov said that discussions were held on the effectiveness of implementing the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Việt Nam as well as ways to increase bilateral trade turnover to US$10 billion by 2025 during the 24th session of the Russia-Việt Nam Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Commercial, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation last year.

“Achieving these agreements can be realised through long-term large-scale joint projects with the support of both governments,” he said.

"We observed that when considering joint projects in Việt Nam, the most vibrant response came from our Vietnamese partners."

“On this occasion, I would like to reiterate that the logistics hub in northern Việt Nam is the port of Hải Phòng - where the Vietnamese-Russian Industrial Zone is operated - which can be considered an area for the presence of Russian enterprises and joint ventures.

We believe that with mutual government support, the presence of these enterprises here will be effective,” he said.

A successful example of localising Russian production in Việt Nam with the participation of both governments is the automobile assembly company "GAZ THANH DAT," established in 2019.

Over the past five years, the company had continuously and successfully maintained their position in the Vietnamese market and developed exports to countries in the region, he said.

In addition to the automotive industry, there was great potential for industrial cooperation between Russia and Việt Nam in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, as well as in the information technology field, he added.

Also at the conference, Phan Anh Sơn, Chairman of the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations, said that the event aimed to follow up on the outcomes of the previous meeting between Ambassador Bezdetko and Sơn, regarding coordinating the organisation of a briefing on the current situation in Russia and the special cooperation relationship between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation.

The conference focused on three main areas: ongoing cooperation between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation, and exploring potential future collaborations.— VNS