SOCHI – Việt Nam’s Party, state and government continue to regard Russia as a significant strategic priority in its diplomatic policy of multilateralisation and international integration, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said yesterday. 

He made the statement at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi City on the sidelines of the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Russia Commemorative Summit. 

The meeting took place in a friendly, trusting and open atmosphere, during which the Vietnamese PM expressed his pleasure in paying an official visit to Russia and briefed the host on the socio-economic situation in Việt Nam as well as the outcome of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Việt Nam. He pledged that the Vietnamese leadership would proactively work to enhance the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in a pragmatic and effective manner. 

In turn, President Putin congratulated PM Phúc on his new post while hailing the role of Việt Nam in Southeast Asia and confirming that the country was one of the external priorities of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. Amidst regional and global changes, cooperation between the two countries has grown actively across the board from politics, economics/trade and security/defence to science/technology, education/training, culture and tourism, he noted. 

The two leaders agreed to strengthen coordination to effectively execute key collaborative projects and programmes, especially in the areas of trade exchange, oil and gas, nuclear power and tourism, to lay a foundation for the expansion of bilateral cooperation into other fields. The Russian leader promised to urge other members of the Eurasian Economic Union, particularly Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, to complete the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) with Việt Nam in a bid to enhance the bilateral economic, trade and investment ties in the coming period. 

PM Phúc said Việt Nam was willing to serve as a bridge to help Russian enterprises expand operations in Southeast Asian markets and the ASEAN, especially now that Việt Nam has signed and engaged in a number of FTAs with foreign countries and organisations. He thanked the Russian president for directing the relevant agencies to support overseas Vietnamese in doing business in the country and expressed his hope that the host society would provide more assistance for Vietnamese expatriates. 

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed various regional and global issues of mutual concern. They agreed to boost cooperation at the multilateral forums of the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the ASEAN. He congratulated Russia on hosting the ASEAN-Russia Summit and expressed his confidence in the event’s success, which is expected to help raise the two sides’ relations to new heights. He also affirmed his intention to enhance Vietnamese-Russian cooperation within the framework of ASEAN-Russia ties. Touching upon the recent complicated developments in the East Sea, President Putin said Russia was keeping a close watch on the situation in Southeast Asia and particularly the East Sea. He reiterated Russia’s standpoint of resolving any disputes via peaceful means and with respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, while fully and effectively enforcing the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea. Russia also supports the ASEAN and China’s initiative to jointly build a Code of Conduct in the East Sea, he added. PM Phúc conveyed President Trần Đại Quang’s invitation to the Russian president to visit Việt Nam and attend the APEC Summit to be hosted there in 2017. - VNS