National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan had a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on December 11 as part of her official visit to the country.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) meets with Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on December 11 (Photo: VNA) 

The visiting leader highly valued the sound development of Vietnam-Russia relations in all fields, affirming that the Vietnamese NA always supports the enhancement of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, and will work with the Vietnamese Government to remove difficulties in bilateral cooperation in a timely manner, thereby helping to intensify their connections.

In the recent past, many major investment projects of the countries have been carried out, she said, noting there remains huge potential for investment partnership in such fields as developing urban infrastructure, transport infrastructure, the digital economy, and nuclear energy.

Aside from Russian projects in Vietnam, there are also Vietnamese projects in Russia, including TH Group’s hi-tech dairy farm, Ngan said.

The chairwoman thanked Russia for creating conditions for VietJet Air to operate a direct route to Vladivostok and for TH Group to invest in the country, asking Russia to help remove barriers for Vietnamese goods to enter its market.

Vietnam is ready to create optimal conditions for the implementation of the two countries’ protocol on supporting the production of motorised vehicles in Vietnam, she affirmed.

The two sides have also been working with each other in the field of digital technology, and cooperation in e-Government building in Vietnam is being carried out actively, the NA leader said, calling on the Russian Government to continue supporting its Vietnamese counterpart in this regard.

Highlighting the significance of oil and gas partnerships to bilateral relations, Ngan asked the Russian Government to further support and encourage Russian petroleum firms to engage in new projects in Vietnam that are in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Vietnam always provides the best possible conditions and is ready to solve issues emerging during the cooperation process to ensure effective collaboration and balanced interests between both sides, the visiting leader stressed, adding that its NA will continue supervising and promoting the settlement of obstacles facing Russian petroleum businesses.

Additionally, the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam is also an important project in the countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership, which has opened up a new cooperation direction. Some issues relevant to this project have not been resolved, so she asked the Vietnamese and Russian finance ministries to find a solution.

At the meeting, PM Medvedev emphasised the sound relations between Russia and Vietnam, noting there will be many important anniversaries of the two countries in 2020, following 120 activities of the Russia Year in Vietnam and the Vietnam Year in Russia in 2019.

He also applauded the fruitful ties between their parliaments.

Pointing out a decline in bilateral trade this year, he said the two sides should tackle payment difficulties to facilitate the trade of agricultural products and medicine.

Regarding energy partnerships, many companies from Vietnam and Russia have been cooperating well but there are still some technical problems, the PM said, affirming the Russian Government will do its utmost and is ready to discuss with Vietnam to resolve these issues.

Medvedev also underlined the importance of education-training cooperation as well as the need to bolster tourism links as Vietnam is currently a popular destination for Russian people.