MOSCOW — President Trần Đại Quang, his spouse and the Vietnamese delegation left Saint Petersburg city on July 1, concluding a four-day official visit to Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier on the same day, the Vietnamese President met with the Governor of Saint Petersburg Georgy Sergeyevich Poltavchenko and representatives of local businesses.

The Governor said Việt Nam is a key and important partner of the city, adding that relations between the city and Vietnamese localities, particularly HCM City and the southern province of Khánh Hoà, have been built on firm foundations.

He mentioned his visit to HCM City in December 2015 during which the two sides signed numerous agreements on trade and tourism.

Poltavchenko underlined education and training as an important aspect in the co-operation between his city and Vietnamese localities, saying that thousands of Vietnamese officials have been trained in Saint Petersburg, which is now home to more than 300 Vietnamese students.

Around 25 co-operation agreements have been signed between Saint Petersburg and Vietnamese universities. The city houses the first Hồ Chí Minh Institute outside Việt Nam.

Trade between Saint Petersburg and Vietnamese provinces and cities reached US$100 million in the first quarter of this year, the Governor said, expressing his belief that the Việt Nam–EAEU free trade agreement will help boost the figure.

Besides businesses effectively operating in Việt Nam, many others from the city have eyed investment in the country, particularly in mechanical engineering, electricity device production, port infrastructure development, and water treatment, he said.

Hồ Chí Minh exhibit

He expressed his belief that President Quang’s visit will create an important impetus for the economic, trade and investment ties between Việt Nam and Russia, including Saint Petersburg.

He revealed that his city plans to launch the first-ever photo exhibition featuring the late President Hồ Chí Minh at the Hermitage Museum in May 2019, as part of the activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the treaty on the basic principles for Việt Nam-Russia friendship.

For his part, President Trần Đại Quang expressed his admiration for the significant achievements the city has made, saying that it deserves to be an economic, cultural, tourism and educational hub of Russia.

Expressing his delight at the fruitful multifaceted co-operation between Việt Nam and Russia, the President spoke highly of the efforts made by the localities of the two nations to consolidate the relationship.

The regular exchange of delegations has contributed to boosting Việt Nam–Russia economic and trade ties, he said, adding the effective collaboration between the two countries’ localities will be a factor propelling the bilateral relationship. Two-way trade between Việt Nam and Russia reached $1.1 billion in the first four months of this year.

In addition to enhancing co-operation in traditional sectors like oil and gas, energy, education and culture, the two sides have expanded collaboration to new fields, including automobile manufacturing, space co-operation for peace, railway, and infrastructure construction.

Hailing the fine connection between Saint Petersburg and Vietnamese localities, the President affirmed that Việt Nam will continue creating the most favourable conditions for the relationship to develop.

Saint Petersburg, considered Russia’s “northern capital”, is the country’s second largest industrial centre after Moscow, with advantages in machine manufacturing and shipbuilding. — VNS