Vietnam and Russia have agreed to speed up talks to finalize key agreements for building the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant, Vietnam’s first, marking a major step in the country’s energy diversification efforts.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk reached the consensus during their meeting on October 27 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, held on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

The two leaders discussed directions for future cooperation and agreed to speed up exchanges and talks so that construction of Ninh Thuan 1, Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant, can begin as planned.

Vietnam has restarted the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, which is expected to be completed within five years. Ninh Thuan 1 will be located in Phuoc Dinh Commune and Ninh Thuan 2 in Vinh Hai Commune, the central province of Khanh Hoa.

State-owned enterprises of EVN and PVN will serve as they main investors in the two plants. The government emphasized that developing diverse energy sources, including nuclear power, is essential to ensuring energy security and sustain high economic growth.

Vietnam has also pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a goal that requires a rapid shift toward cleaner and renewable energy.

Apart from nuclear energy, the two sides committed to promoting balanced trade and improving market access for each other’s goods, particularly agricultural products, food and other key commodities.

They also agreed to expand cooperation in transport and infrastructure, including railway projects, and to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and tourism to enhance mutual understanding.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Chinh urged the Russian government to continue supporting the Vietnamese community in Russia to settle and thrive, and called on Moscow to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students, especially in basic sciences and civil nuclear energy.

He reaffirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia, calling on Russia to further open its market to Vietnamese exports and encourage the Eurasian Economic Union to remove trade defense measures that restrict Vietnamese goods.