Vietnam, Russia discuss peaceful nuclear energy cooperation

The Vietnamese premier received the Russian official at the government headquarters during her official visit to Vietnam, which wrapped up on Friday.

Strengthening comprehensive cooperation

PM Hung reaffirmed that the Vietnamese government attaches importance to its traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

He highly valued the role played by the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia and its contributions, particularly those of Matviyenko, in promoting bilateral relations.

The prime minister said an important task at present was to translate the orientations and agreements reached by the two countries’ senior leaders into practical and effective cooperation programs and projects.

He called on Russia’s Federation Council to continue coordinating with Vietnam’s National Assembly to help the two governments improve their legal frameworks, address obstacles and facilitate the implementation of bilateral cooperation initiatives.

The top Vietnamese official also urged both sides to make better use of existing cooperation mechanisms, facilitate trade and investment, and help firms gain greater access to each other’s markets.

He underscored the importance of maintaining effective cooperation in the energy and oil and gas sectors, while advancing collaboration in the peaceful use of nuclear energy in conjunction with safety assurance, technology transfer and workforce training.

The prime minister also expressed his hope that Russia and other member states of the Eurasian Economic Union would soon begin negotiations to amend the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement to help increase bilateral trade turnover toward the target of US$15 billion.

The Vietnamese government leader further called for stronger cooperation in science and technology, innovation, education and training, local-level partnerships, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

He also highlighted the need to make better use of favorable air connectivity between the two countries.

Russia backs stronger ties with Vietnam

Matviyenko spoke highly of Vietnam’s development prospects and cooperation potential, affirming that Russia’s Federation Council supports stronger ties with Vietnam.

She said the council stood ready to make full use of its functions and authority to support the implementation of agreements between the two governments.

She also expressed her desire to promote connections between Russian entities and Vietnamese provinces and cities, creating additional cooperation opportunities for businesses from both countries.

The Russian official called for continued cooperation in education and Russian-language teaching, as well as cultural exchanges and tourism.

She noted that generations of Vietnamese people who had studied or worked in Russia, together with friendship organizations, represented a valuable resource for expanding cooperation and fostering mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Both sides agreed to strengthen coordination among their governments, legislative bodies and local authorities to advance the implementation of bilateral agreements, with a focus on resolving specific obstacles, improving cooperation efficiency and creating favourable conditions for businesses.

They also shared the view that cooperation in education, science and culture, along with exchanges among younger generations, played an important role in strengthening the long-term foundations of bilateral relations.

The two leaders pledged to facilitate and proactively organize people-to-people exchanges, cultural promotion events and business and local-government networking activities between the two countries.