The Russian Government always supports its businesses in increasing cooperation with Vietnam, especially in the fields of oil and gas and energy, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue (left) and
his Russian counterpart Dmitry Kozak.(Photo: VNA) 

He made the affirmation at a talk with his Vietnamese counterpart Vuong Dinh Hue in Moscow on December 10, which was held in the framework of an official visit by Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

The two Deputy PMs shared the assessment that bilateral economic, trade and investment ties have recorded positive development in the recent past, with two-way trade value reaching 4.5 billion USD in 2018 and 3.77 billion USD in the first 10 months this year, and new investment projects launched.

In the context of multiple fluctuations in the world, the two sides agreed to coordinate to remove non-tariff barriers for each other’s goods, especially for agricultural and fishery products, with a view to optimizing their potential and advantages created by the Vietnam-EAEU free trade agreement.

Deputy PM Hue stressed that Vietnam attaches importance to the partnership with Russia in oil and gas and energy, which are important pillars of the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership. 

The two sides agreed to work to remove obstacles that are hindering their joint projects in Vietnam, and expanding the scale of joint projects in energy and oil and gas while improving the operational efficiency of joint ventures Vietsovpetro and Rusvietpetro. They pledged to facilitate the participation of oil and gas enterprises of both countries in new schemes in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, and gas-fuelled electricity generation.

The two Deputy PMs also examined bilateral cooperation in finance and banking, as well measures to implement high-level agreements on several key cooperation projects.

The same day, Deputy PM Hue received executives of Gazprom, Zarunezhneft and Power Machines. He took the occasion to affirm that the Vietnamese Government always welcomes and creates favourable conditions for Russian firms to expand oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities in Vietnam’s continental shelf as well as in other fields.