 NDO – Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and his Russian counterpart Maxim Akimov co-chaired the 21st meeting of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technological Cooperation, which took place in Moscow on October 29. |
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During the meeting, the two sides discussed and agreed on a wide range of measures to foster bilateral ties in all fields, particularly in the implementation of high-ranking agreements, which were reached during Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s official visit to Russia in September this year. Both sides appreciated the dynamic development of the economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Russia over recent years, which can be seen through the effective implementation of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union to which Russia is a member. Accordingly, two-way trade reached US$3.4 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 36.8% year-on-year. Bilateral investment cooperation has also seen expansion. The two Deputy PMs also discussed concrete measures to step up cooperation in the context of the fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly in fields such as trade and investment, information technology, transport, finance and banking, energy, and education-training. Regarding trade, they agreed to consider the lift of non-tariff barriers in import-export activities, particularly in agriculture and fisheries, gearing towards bilateral trade of US$10 billion in 2020. In the field of finance-banking, the two sides exchanged views on measures to enhance bilateral transactions in domestic currencies. Concerning the field of energy, reaffirmations were made to continue creating more favourable conditions for oil and gas projects, while expanding the collaboration in other fields such as liquefied natural gas and electricity. At the end of the session, the two Deputy PMs witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between businesses and organisations from the two countries in the fields of banking, telecommunications and education and training. At a press conference following the meeting, the two Deputy PMs announced that the meeting was a success, during which they discussed major cooperation areas in a frank, open, substantial and comprehensive manner. The 22nd session of the committee is scheduled to be held in Vietnam in 2019. |
