Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh was pleased to announce the positive results of Vietnam-Russia economic and trade cooperation in 2020, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-way trade revenue between the two countries reached US$4.6 billion in the first 10 months of 2020, an increase of 11.5% over the same period last year.
The Ambassador said that Vietnam and the Russian Federation will begin to enter a new period of cooperation in 2021, marking 70 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. In this context, it is important to continue to maintain and create more momentum for the development of bilateral trade in addition to boosting the strengths of both sides to create greater benefits, contributing to fostering the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.
The Vietnamese diplomat also emphasised that the two countries are witnessing new positive cooperation trends in the areas of agriculture, dairy farming, dairy product processing, and the formation of new value chains in fisheries, high technology, and information technology.
Manh noted that Russian consumers are beginning to know and love many Vietnamese products including tea, coffee, and seafood.
Vietnam's Trade Counsellor in the Russian Federation Duong Hoang Minh said that the trade relations between the two countries are still modest and called on enterprises of both sides to take advantage of tariff preferences from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to promote trade exchange between the two countries.
Vice Chairwoman of the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association Regina Budarina said that the two countries need to develop infrastructure, as well as logistics, including transit ports and cold storage to facilitate the import and export of goods. She added that the long-standing friendship and cultural cooperation between Russia and Vietnam has also had positive impacts on the trade growth prospects of both sides.
At the seminar, participants also expressed their interest in the opportunities for both Vietnam and Russia when the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to be officially signed in the future. They agreed that RCEP will offer many opportunities for joint venture businesses to promote goods in Asia, contributing to the promotion of Russia's presence in Asia, but the agreement will also require businesses to be more active in seizing opportunities.
