Chairwoman of Russia’s Federal Council Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko has told Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong that her country will do everything possible to develop the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) meets with Chairwoman of Russia’s Federal Council Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko on Feb. 22

At the meeting with the Vietnamese Party leader in Hanoi on February 22, Matvienko also reiterated that Russia treasures the time-honoured friendship and the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam, stressing that Russia will exert all efforts to realise cooperation agreements in all spheres between the two nations, thereby creating substantive progress in bilateral ties.

She promised that the Russian parliament will closely coordinate with the National Assembly of Vietnam at international forums for the sake of peace, stability and respect for international law.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said the official visit of the Russian Federal Council Chairwoman is very important to the expansion of the countries’ traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State, National Assembly, Government and people consider developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia as one of the top priorities in Vietnam’s foreign policy.

Vietnam has closely followed and is pleased with the enormous achievements Russia has attained in national development and defence. It also supports Russia to play a greater role in ensuring global and regional peace and stability, he noted.

The General Secretary highly valued mutual visits by the countries’ parliamentary leaders, adding that the Communist Party of Vietnam attaches importance to promoting relations with political parties, including the ruling United Russia, along with the State, parliament and people of Russia.

Local cooperation significant to Vietnam-Russia partnership

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Chairwoman of Russia’s Federal Council Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko at the event 

Cooperation among Vietnamese and Russian localities plays an important role in the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, as agreed by National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Chairwoman of Russia’s Federal Council Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko. 

Addressing a seminar on strengthening the partnership among localities of both countries in Hanoi on February 22, the two top legislators noted that localities of both sides have shared twin relations and high potential of cooperation in investment, trade, tourism, and culture.

They called for NA deputies to exert more efforts to seek measures to deal with obstacles and barriers hindering the collaboration along localities, adding that participants should discuss the current situation as well as solutions to further boost their partnership.

The Vietnamese NA leader affirmed that the outcomes of the seminar will be sent to relevant agencies of each country, enabling them to seek to make local cooperation more hectic.

She pledged that Vietnam will do its utmost to create optimal legal conditions for respective ministries, sectors, localities, organizations and businesses to forge stronger ties in all fields.

For her part, Matvienko stated that Vietnam has always been among Asia-Pacific countries with high GDP growth, which is a chance for Vietnam and Russia to continue expanding their bilateral cooperation.

The two sides are working together for a target of 10 billion USD in two-way trade in 2020 by exploiting untapped potentials to match the sound comprehensive strategic partnership, she said.

The Russian legislator noted that in 2016, after the receiving the ratification of the respective parliaments, the Eurasian Economic Union-Vietnam free trade agreement became effective, opening new opportunities for Vietnam and Russia to beef up their trade cooperation as the Eurasian Economic Union with five member countries is a promising market with a population of 190 million.

At the seminar, the two sides agreed that Vietnam-Russia ties have been growing fruitfully, with eventful affiliations at local level as shown in the relations between Hanoi and Moscow, Ho Chi Minh City and Saint Petersburg and Moscow, Da Nang and Yaroslavl, Khanh Hoa and Khabarovsk, Nghe An and Ulianop, and Ba Ria Vung Tau and Nenetski.

The localities’ partnership, rooted from the traditional solidarity of both peoples and demand for cooperation for mutual growth, has significantly contributed to the development of Vietnam-Russia ties, they added.

Participants at the event, including representatives of seven Russian localities, Russian diplomatic agencies and the Russian Business Association in Vietnam as well as 12 Vietnamese localities, also held that amidst the effectiveness of the Eurasian Economic Union-Vietnam free trade agreement, the two sides should focus more on economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Last year, two-way trade reached 2.7 billion USD, with total Russian FDI in Vietnam hitting about 1.1 billion USD in 118 projects, ranking 23rd among 116 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

The two countries should create more favourable conditions for investors of both sides, especially in areas of common strength and high demand.

The Russian side invited Vietnamese localities to join the Orient Economic Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in this September.

The two sides also concurred to form a local working group with the participation of localities of both sides, with its meeting held in turn in Vietnam and Russia, aiming to make cooperation among localities more practical and effective.

Russia’s Federal Council Chairwoman wraps up Vietnam visit

Chairwoman of the Federal Council of Russia Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko and Vietnamese officials 

Chairwoman of the Federal Council of Russia Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko returned to her home country on February 22, concluding her Vietnam visit from February 20-22 at the invitation of National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. 

During her stay, Matvienko visited Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang, met Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and NA Chairwoman Ngan and co-chaired a seminar on strengthening partnerships between Vietnamese and Russian localities. 

During meetings, both sides expressed delight at the development of their comprehensive strategic partnership and believed that the visit would contribute to deepening bilateral ties. 

At talks, top legislator Ngan and her guest agreed on the regular exchange of delegations from the Vietnamese NA and the Russian Federal Council, which they said, would make it easier to expand bilateral cooperation. 

Friendship parliamentarians’ groups of the two countries will play an important role in further boosting bilateral ties. The two legislatures will provide support to accelerate links across culture-education, economy, trade, energy, oil and gas, agriculture and tourism while strengthening the supervision of implementing cooperation agreements between the two nations. 

At the seminar co-hosted by the National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations, the Foreign Ministry and Russian embassy in Vietnam, the two sides noted growing ties between localities in recent years. 

They agreed to establish a localities working group mechanism. 

Vietnam and Russia will take turns holding meetings of the group, contributing to the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

VNA