Vietnamese and Russian flags on a platform of Vietsovpetro in the East Sea (Source: Vietsovpetro)

In the opening of the workshop, Russia Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vasilievich Vnukov highlighted the growing economic and trade relations as well as the friendship and mutual understanding between Vietnam and Russia.

He called on the two nations to continue building on the cooperation advantages between the two nations, and promote promising joint projects.

According to the Ambassador, Russian enterprises have actively participated in the training of Vietnamese officials and experts, with an example being the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM which has offered scholarships for over 400 Vietnamese students.

The Government of Russia has also provided aid to Vietnam in order to overcome damages from natural disasters, implement poverty reduction and hunger eradication programmes, promote socio-economic development, and tourism, he added.

Russia’s head trade representative in Vietnam Viacheslav Nikolaievich Kharinov highlighted Vietnam’s favourable investment climate for Russian firms, saying that despite the still modest economic cooperation between Vietnam and Russia, the influence of Russian culture is strong in Vietnam.

Vietnamese people still remember the comprehensive support that the Soviet Union provided for Vietnam in the past, he said.

Besides Russia’s support for Vietnam in the framework of the national key cooperation programmes, Russian firms are operating in Vietnam in the fields of education – training, science, health care, sports, charity work, telecommunication, among others.