On the afternoon of Tuesday local time in Moscow, during his state visit to Russia, To Lam met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

At the meeting, the two sides welcomed progress in bilateral ties in trade, investment, science-technology, education-training, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. Issues previously raised by the leaders of the two countries have also gradually been addressed, they said.

The Vietnamese top leader praised the role of the two governments in translating agreements and directions reached by their senior leaders into concrete action, and called on the governments to continue close coordination and make effective use of existing mechanisms, particularly the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technical Cooperation.

Promoting more balanced two-way investment

The two sides agreed on the need to make stronger progress in economic and trade cooperation, given the complementary potential and strengths of the two economies, while encouraging and facilitating businesses from both countries to expand their operations and investment and strengthen connectivity.

To Lam called for stronger two-way investment in a more balanced direction. Following the success of Vietnam's leading dairy products maker TH Group, Vietnam would encourage its businesses to invest in agriculture in Russia, while encouraging Russian companies to invest in industrial production in Vietnam, he said.

To improve the effectiveness of economic, trade and investment cooperation, To Lam asked the Russian government to direct relevant ministries and agencies to continue reviewing and resolving difficulties and obstacles, and adopt appropriate measures on tariffs, quotas, transport, logistics and market access, thereby strengthening the presence of Vietnamese goods in Russia.

Vietnam was the first country in the world to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Russia is a member, To Lam said. He asked Russia to encourage other EAEU members to open their markets, remove trade barriers, and abolish the trade-remedy threshold mechanism for Vietnamese goods.

Strengthening strategic connectivity

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin stressed the importance of improving transport and logistics connectivity to expand bilateral trade, saying the two sides should study ways to improve the efficiency of maritime, rail and multimodal transport.

This would help the two countries establish stable supply chains and facilitate the movement of goods, he noted.

To Lam agreed that the two sides should establish new strategic connectivity through cooperation in transport, particularly rail, maritime and air transport.

In the energy sector, the two sides praised the effectiveness of their oil and gas cooperation projects, describing them as clear examples of successful Vietnam-Russia cooperation.

Russia expressed its desire to further develop energy cooperation with Vietnam, not only in traditional areas but also in new fields in line with the development needs and orientations of both countries.

The two sides agreed that science and technology had strong potential to become a new driver of bilateral ties, and agreed to explore expanding cooperation into areas including new energy and biomedical technology.

The Vietnamese leader called for leveraging Russia's strengths in basic science, engineering and technology in line with Vietnam's needs for rapid and sustainable development. He also asked Russia to support Vietnam in training high-quality human resources in fields where Russia has strengths and Vietnam has demand.

Mishustin said the Russian government would work closely with the Vietnamese government to concretize and effectively implement agreements reached at the highest level, turning political orientations into specific programs, projects and tangible cooperation results.

As of July 2026, Russia had 223 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of about $996.4 million, ranking 28th among 153 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnam, in turn, had 19 active projects in Russia with total registered capital of $1.64 billion, ranking fourth among 88 countries and territories where Vietnamese companies have invested. Notable projects include the Rusvietpetro oil and gas joint venture and TH Group's dairy cattle and agricultural projects.

Bilateral trade rose from $3.63 billion in 2023 to $4.58 billion in 2024 and nearly $4.77 billion in 2025. In the first seven months of 2026, trade reached $3.24 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, with Vietnam's exports at $1.33 billion, down 5.2%, and imports at $1.91 billion, up about 22.5%.