Russia considers Vietnam ties top priority in Asia

News - Russia places on high priority the development of relations with Vietnam, especially in trade, said the Russian ambassador to Vietnam at a press conference in Hanoi on Wednesday.

Andrey G. Kovtun told reporters during the regular year-end meeting that opportunities were opening up to boost trade ties between the two countries now that the country’s access to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is nearing. Furthermore, there is the high possibility of concluding the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among the tariff union including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vietnam, which will further increase the trade between the two countries, Andrey added.

The year 2011 is an important year in terms of implementing trade agreements signed by the two parties in the previous year. However, the results have not been relevant to the trading potential between the two countries, said the Russian envoy.

Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show Vietnam’s exports to Russia between January and November rose by some 60% year-on-year to US$1.18 billion, with major commodities being telephones, garment and textile, and aquatic products. However, Russian exports to Vietnam tumbled one-third to only US$612 million, comprising mainly oil and gas, steel, fertilizer, and machinery.

But the ambassador still pinned high hopes on the thriving trade in the coming time, especially once the FTA was concluded. So far, the two parties have conducted three rounds of talks regarding the FTA.

“In the future, Russia is planning to develop such a partnership model with the whole of ASEAN,” said Andrey.

The diplomat also recalled the strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam established from 2001 when the then President V.V.Putin paid his first visit to Vietnam. This visit as well as other high-ranking visits in the following years has created the foundation for the trading development between the two countries.

“To Russia, developing relationship with Vietnam is still a top priority of Russia’s policy on foreign affairs in Asia in the future,” Andrey noted.