Vietnam, as the first country to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, and Russia may discuss any cooperation projects, both bilaterally and multilaterally, said an official of the United Russia Party (ER).

Andrey Klimov, a member of the presidium of the ER General Council and Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the affirmation in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the sidelines of a roundtable seminar for representatives from mass media in Asia-Pacific in Vladivostok, Primorye province, on July 12. 

Lauding Vietnam’s role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the official expressed his belief that in 2020 when Vietnam assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship, multilateral cooperation opportunities between Russia and ASEAN member countries will be discussed at forums in Hanoi. 

The roundtable seminar, which was initiated by the ER on the basis of its agreements with political parties in Asia, including the Communist Party of Vietnam, also saw the participation of senior Russian officials. 

Grigory Kuranov, Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District, stressed that President Vladimir Putin has paid special attention to developing the Far East region. 

Russia will open its doors and stands ready to directly provide official information in the fastest way for investors in the region, he said. 

Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East, Sergey Tyrtsev, said the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia has attracted more than 25 percent of foreign investments in Russia, and its export-import values grew 25 percent in 2018. 

Forty federal laws and 167 governmental legal documents have been adopted to create the most favourable conditions for investment activities in the region, he said, adding that local authorities have also offered tax incentives and built necessary infrastructure in an effort to attract more investors. 

Over the past five years, the region has implemented over 1,600 new projects worth 530 billion rubles (roughly 8.4 billion USD), creating about 37,000 jobs, he said.