The remark was made by Vice Chairman of the Can Tho municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Dung during an investment, trade and tourism promotion conference, jointly held by a delegation of Can Tho city and the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia at the Hanoi-Moscow Complex (Incentra) in Moscow on August 2.
Dung stated that since the signing of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement, trade revenues between Vietnam and the union have increased significantly. The Mekong Delta region and Can Tho in particular have contributed to such growth as a major supply source of aquatic products.
Can Tho has recently developed its trade exchange with many international businesses, including those from Russia, he said, adding that the city exported US$1.6 million worth of goods to Russia in the first half of 2019.
However, Can Tho has not yet been satisfied with the figure, and wishes to call for Russian companies’ investment in the areas of high-tech agriculture, electronics, tourism, rice exports and fisheries, Dung emphasised.
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh said as the capital of Vietnam’s southwestern region, Can Tho is not only considered a rice granary of Vietnam but also known as a place with abundant specialties, such as tropical fruits and fisheries products, as well as having a hospitable community.
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Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh speaks at the conference. (Photo: NDO)
He expressed his belief that Vietnam-Russia relations will continue to thrive extensively, especially the ties between localities of important positions, including Can Tho. With the aforementioned advantages, Can Tho has enough conditions to develop cooperation with Russian localities, the diplomat stated.
On the Russian side, Mankevich Vitali Nikolaievich, president of the Russian business association for cooperation with Asia, said over recent years, Russian firms have focused on developing comprehensive ties with Vietnam, adding that the two countries’ businesses are together striving to bring two-way trade to US$10 billion in 2020, as expected by their senior leaders.
He spoke highly of Can Tho’s strengths, stating that through practical activities, such as the investment promotion conference, Vietnamese and Russian companies will reach a common voice and a starting point, subsequently opening prospects for effective cooperation.
At the conference, Russian firms showed their interest and wish to invest in the fields of tourism, aquaculture and seafood processing, as well as learning from experience and seeking skilled workers in these areas.
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Businesses of the two sides sign a number of memoranda of understanding on bilateral cooperation. (Photo: NDO)
At the end of the conference, businesses of the two countries signed a number of memoranda of understanding on bilateral cooperation in exchanging information, trade promotion, exporting rice bran and essential oil from rice bran to the Russian market, logistics and infrastructure construction, exporting glucozamine extracted from shrimp shells into the Russian market, aquaculture and aquatic product processing, and consumption of farm produce.
Later on the same day, the delegation of Can Tho city had a working session with leaders of Russia’s Mordovian Autonomous Republic. The two sides introduced potential and prospects for investment cooperation, and discussed the possibility of signing a bilateral cooperation agreement in the near future.
