Forum seeks to accelerate Vietnam-Russia economic cooperation

At the forum

According to VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong, the 2017 Vietnam-Russia trade promotion programme comprises of a series of trade promotion activities, which have attracted the participation of nearly 100 Russian companies operating in the key fields of agriculture, energy, transportation, infrastructure, construction and high-tech agriculture.

Russia is now a market of which many Vietnamese businesses are becoming increasingly interested in. The two countries have registered positive signs in their bilateral trade relations, with two-way trade reaching approximately US$1.7 billion in the first six months of 2017, up 26% compared to the same period of last year. Vietnam exported over US$1 billion worth of commodities to Russia, up more than 34%, whilst importing roughly US$664 million worth of goods from the Eurasian country, an increase of nearly 16%.

Phong expressed his hope that the 2017 Vietnam-Russia trade promotion programme, together with an array of events and support solutions deployed by the two countries’ Governments, ministries and sectors, the trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Russia would grow more vigorously, thereby deserving of the comprehensive strategic partnership and meeting the expectations of the leaders and peoples of both sides.

As of July 2017, Russia was operating 115 direct investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of over US$1 billion. Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms had invested in 18 projects worth US$2.4 billion in the Eurasian country, mainly in the energy and mining industries.

In regards to their development cooperation, the Vietnam-Russia relationship has already been elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with cooperation opportunities opening up for the two countries. Particularly in October 2016, the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) began to take effect, contributing significantly to lifting the bilateral economic cooperation to a new height. Furthermore, the number and quality of cooperation projects in the fields of investment, science and technology are also showing an increasing trend.

Vartanov David Robertovich, head of the Expo-Russia Vietnam 2017 organising committee, stated that, in addition to the economic forum, the 2017 Vietnam-Russia trade promotion programme also features a number of symposiums which focus on evaluating the Vietnam-Russia economic cooperation within the framework of the Vietnam-EAEU FTA, whilst introducing and advertising Russia’s healthcare products and services to the Vietnamese market, and building a new railway container transport route along the Russia-Vietnam route.

The Expo-Russia Vietnam 2017 also has several new features, with the number of participating Russian companies doubling the 2015 figure, and the expo’s organiser, Russia’s Zarubezh-Expo company, developing the platform entitled “Expo-Russia Vietnam 2017 – new trend and technology in the expo industry”.