At Bach Ho oil field of Vietsovpetro (Photo: VNA)

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s official visit to Vietnam, Ilichev, who is also Vice Chairman of the Vietnam – Russia intergovernmental committee for cooperation in economy – trade and science – technology, highlighted that two-way trade rose 8.3% in 2023 against the previous year and the upward trajectory continued into 2024, with the first ten months showing a 23.9% increase.

The economic partnership has evolved beyond traditional trade, with new multimodal logistics routes being established between the two nations. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have emerged as crucial transportation hubs for Russian companies seeking to expand their reach into other Southeast Asian markets, including Malaysia and Thailand.

Besides, he laid stress on the stable recovery of their trade in services, elaborating Russian tourist arrivals to Vietnam shooting up 84.9% in late 2024. Similarly, the number of Vietnamese visitors to Russia has seen steady growth following the implementation of an e-visa system in 2023.

Ilichev added that joint ventures continue to mark significant milestones, with Vietsovpetro celebrating its 250 millionth tonne of oil extraction last year while GAZ Group having been successfully assembling vehicles in Vietnam since 2022. Furthermore, a nuclear science centre project in Vietnam is progressing as planned, and Vietnamese dairy giant TH True Milk is expanding its footprint in Russia with manufacturing facilities in Moscow oblast, Kaluga oblast and Primorsky region.

Looking ahead, Ilichev identified several promising areas for collaboration. Russian investors are showing increasing interest in Vietnam's pharmaceutical and organic cosmetics, and confectionery sectors. In the meantime, Russian national brands have established a strong presence on major Vietnamese e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, TikTok Shop, and Sendo.

Russian enterprises stand ready to support Vietnam in developing green energy and transportation, including projects in the areas of nuclear energy, wind energy and hydropower, he said, stating the Russian sides are also willing to work with Vietnam in digitalisation where they boast considerable expertise such as satellite technology, smart cities, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, and AI.

He went on to say that creative economy could become another frontier for cooperation, with Russia aiming to increase the sector’s contributions to its GDP from 3.5% to 6% by 2030, affirming that the country is keen on sharing its experience and advancement in the industry management as well as providing Vietnam with its creative products such as animation.

To further strengthen the economic ties, he proposed harmonising standards, reducing non-tariff barriers, and supporting joint projects. New working groups on IT cooperation and health care were established under the intergovernmental committee framework to facilitate the joint initiatives./.