The Party, State and Government of Vietnam always regard Russia as a significant strategic priority in their diplomatic policy of multilateralisation and international integration, stated Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He made the statement at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi city on May 19 on the sidelines of the 20th ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit.

The meeting took place in a friendly, trustful and open atmosphere, during which the Vietnamese PM expressed his pleasure to pay an official visit to Russia and briefed the host about the socio-economic situation in Vietnam as well as the outcome of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

He pledged that the Vietnamese leadership will proactively work to enhance the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in a pragmatic and effective manner.

In turn, President Putin congratulated Nguyen Xuan Phuc on his new post while hailing the role of Vietnam in Southeast Asia and confirming that Vietnam is one of the external priorities of Russia in the Asian-Pacific region.

Amid the regional and global changes, the bilateral cooperation has grown actively across the fields from politics, economics-trade, and security-defence to science-technology, education-training, culture and tourism, he noted.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen coordination to implement effectively key collaborative projects and programmes, especially in trade exchange, oil and gas, nuclear power, and tourism to lay a foundation for the expansion of bilateral affiliation into other fields.

The Russian leader promised to urge other members of the Eurasian Economic Union, namely Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, to complete the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam in a bid to enhance the bilateral economic, trade, and investment ties in the coming time.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge to help Russian enterprises expand operation in Southeast Asian markets and ASEAN, especially when Vietnam has signed and got engaged in a number of FTAs with foreign countries and organisations.

He thanked the Russian President for directing relevant agencies to support overseas Vietnamese to do business and expressed his hopes the host society will provide more assistance for Vietnamese expatriates.

During the meeting, the two leaders exchanged various regional and global issues of mutual concerns. They agreed to boost cooperation at multilateral forums of the United Nation, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He congratulated Russia on hosting the ASEAN-Russia Summit and expressed his confidence in the event’s success, which will help elevate the two sides’ relations to a new height.

He also affirmed to enhance Vietnam-Russia cooperation within the framework of ASEAN-Russia ties.

Touching upon the recent complicated developments in the East Sea, President Putin said Russia is keeping a close watch on the situation in Southeast Asia and particularly the East Sea.

He reiterated Russia’s standpoint of resolving any disputes via peaceful means and in respect of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while implementing fully and effectively the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC). Russia also supports ASEAN and China to jointly build a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), he added.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc conveyed President Tran Dai Quang’s invitation to the Russian President for visiting Vietnam and attending the APEC Summit to be hosted in the Southeast Asian country in 2017.

Prime Minister’s Russia visit propels bilateral ties

The outcomes of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Russia from May 16-18 are believed to create a new momentum for the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia .

The visit, which was made at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, is the first trip abroad of Nguyen Xuan Phuc as the Vietnamese Prime Minister.

During his stay in Russia , the Government leader had a hectic schedule during which he held talks with Prime Minister Medvedev, where he said the selection of Russia for his first foreign trip has demonstrated Vietnam ’s trust in the country as well as its wish to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership.

PM Medvedev affirmed that Russia always considers Vietnam one of the country’s leading partners in Asia-Pacific.

Host and guest reaffirmed their resolve to enhance mutual political trust and the comprehensive strategic partnership. They also compared notes on various measures to beef up bilateral ties, to meet the long-term interests of the two countries’ people.

The two sides consented to step up their collaboration in energy while expanding the affiliation in other realms like petrochemistry and liquefied gas, and targeting third countries to become involved.

They will also continue partnership in national defence and security, especially in military technology.

As part of his three-day visit, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Speaker of Russia’s State Duma Sergei Naryshkin, Speaker of the Federation Council (Upper House) of Russia ’s Parliament Valentina Matviyenko and President of the Russian Communist Party G . Zyuganov, among others.

On May 19, he had a meeting with Russian President Putin to discuss major issues of shared concern and chart orientations for bilateral cooperation.

The Vietnamese PM also visited Russia ’s leading oil and gas groups like Gazprom and Zarubezhnef, where he pledged optimal conditions for sustainable, long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

“The Vietnamese Government will create the best possible conditions for foreign businesses, including those from Russia , and will continue to remove obstacles hindering their operation,” he said.

VNA