The Association of Vietnam Retailers (AVR) held a business matching programme in Hanoi on August 27 to connect Russian businesses with local partners, and to introduce Russian goods to local retailers.

Thirteen Russian firms brought to the event many typical products, such as sausages, ham, salami, kvass, dried fruit, nuts, confectionery, beer, beverage and organic cosmetics. 

 The programme also attracted many Vietnamese retailers, importers and exporters, besides delegates from Vietnamese management agencies.  

 Chairwoman of ARV Dinh Thi My Loan said the event was designed with the aim of providing a venue for businesses from both sides to connect and discuss cooperation opportunities, towards bolstering two-way trade. 

 Nguyen Viet Linh, a representative of ARV, presented statistics that showed trade between Vietnam and Russia saw good growth after the Vietnam – Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement took effect in 2016. 

 In 2018 two-way trade value grew 28.63 percent year on year, with Russia’s exports to Vietnam shooting up by 53.38 percent to 2.1 billion USD. 

 According to the Ministry of Trade, Russia ranked 24th among 129 foreign investors in Vietnam in 2018, with 123 projects worth 932 million USD in total. Vietnam also had 22 investment projects in Russia with total capital of nearly 3 billion USD.