Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Vinh

MOSCOW – Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh met in Moscow yesterday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the two discussed co-ordination in the oil and gas sector, which they agreed was of strategic importance to both sides.

Minh, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, is on a three-day visit to Russia. He briefed his host about Việt Nam’s major socio-economic development plans and external policies for the next five years.

Expressing satisfaction with the high political trust between the two nations, both sides agreed to further facilitate the exchange of all-level visits of the Party, State and Government, National Assembly, ministry and local channels; maintain existing dialogue and consultation mechanisms; and hasten the negotiations on and signing of several agreements.

In the first ten months of this year, two-way trade hit US$2.2 billion. The two countries are set to implement the Việt Nam-Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement towards lifting that figure to $10 billion by 2020.

In order to facilitate exports and imports, host and guest pledged to embark on projects in the fields of energy, industry, mechanical engineering, including establishing an automobile manufacturing joint venture in Việt Nam, opening a Việt Nam light industry complex in Moscow, and TH True Milk’s farms in Moscow Oblast and Kaluga province.

The two leaders underscored energy ties as one of the pillars strategic to each country’s development, and vowed all possible support for Vietnamese and Russian oil and gas firms to enhance co-ordination.

They committed to continuing close co-operation on national defence-security matters, especially in the military technical aspect, as well as the expansion of science-technology, education, training, culture, tourism, labour ties.

Minh thanked the Foreign Ministry for offering support to Vietnamese nationals living in Russia.

On multilateral co-operation, the two countries will continue working closely at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting, the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Việt Nam backs Russia’s active role in Asia-Pacific and stands ready to serve as a bridge connecting Russia and ASEAN, Minh said.

Lavrov, for his part, hailed Việt Nam’s increasing stature in the region and the world.

Turning to the East Sea issue, they were unanimous regarding the need for peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early formulation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Minh and Lavrov signed a co-operation scheme between the two foreign ministries for 2017-2018. — VNS