Dmitry Medvedev’s opening remarks:
Meeting with Russian and Vietnamese business representatives
I welcome the opportunity to meet with you in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s business capital. I’d like to express my appreciation to Vietnam’s leaders who made this dialogue possible. Clearly, such meetings were held before. Russian and Vietnamese businesses keep in touch with each other and, in any case, these meetings are useful. Informal exchanges of views are particularly beneficial. I hope today’s discussion will give a new impetus to our economic relations. We’ll discuss the current state of affairs and then talk about future cooperation.
Regarding the current situation, clearly, Vietnam’s economy is integrated into the business world of the Asia-Pacific Region and Southeast Asia. The economy is developing in a very competitive and dynamic environment of various projects, ideas, and technological advances. Russia is seeking to be part of the processes that are taking place in this region and to enjoy a stronger position in Asia-Pacific markets. Actually, we have been moving towards this goal for a long time now, but for understandable reasons this issue has been a higher priority in the last few years.
Visit
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Dmitry Medvedev lays wreaths at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Fallen Soldiers Memorial in Hanoi
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Dmitry Medvedev meets with the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung
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Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
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Dmitry Medvedev meets with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang
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Dmitry Medvedev meets with the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan
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Dmitry Medvedev meets with the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan
Yesterday, I had substantive talks with all the leaders of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. We discussed our cooperation across numerous sectors, including energy, the manufacturing industry, investment and the humanitarian sphere. We signed several important documents. Most importantly – and both the Russian and the Vietnamese side agree – we have major plans for the future and a strong desire to work together.
Current trade between Russia and Vietnam amounts to about $4 billion. This figure varies. On average, Russian exports have been growing by 12 percent a year, and Vietnamese imports by about 30 percent. The growth rates are steady, except for last year when the Russian economy was in a tough spot. However, we can do much better in terms of mutual trade (something everyone acknowledges), especially since it has a good structure that includes, in addition to natural resources, a high percentage of machinery and textile and chemical industry items, as well as a number of other products.
Meeting with Russian and Vietnamese business representatives
Accumulated mutual investments total approximately $4.3 billion, with over 100 projects with Russian participation underway in Vietnam. Major joint ventures, such as Vietsovpetro, Vietgazprom and Rosneft Vietnam, operate here, in southern Vietnam. Plans are in place to build a new Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant and Long Phu 1 Thermal Power Plant. This doesn’t mean that we should discuss only these projects, all the more so since most of the decisions regarding them have already been taken. We (I mean, Russia) would like to provide more favourable conditions for your work at the national and state-to-state level by way of improving the business climate and removing unnecessary administrative barriers. We will keep in touch regarding these issues.
There’s one more thing that I’d like to mention at the beginning of our conversation — the discussions are nearing completion on the draft agreement on a free trade area between the Eurasian Economic Union (soon to include five states) and Vietnam.
Intensive consultations were held just before my visit, which allowed us to resolve almost all important issues. I’d like to say straight away that the draft agreement includes both countries’ business interests.
We strived to make this document acceptable to our partners not only in terms of access to our market (which is, probably, the simplest thing to do), but also in terms of investment, which requires more subtle and delicate work.
Therefore, I believe that the combination of trade and investment cooperation is the most important thing in this draft agreement on a free trade area.
The document provides major preferences for our Vietnamese friends and takes into account the wishes of our Vietnamese partners regarding market access for staple Vietnamese exports, which include seafood, light industry items, and several others. I think that we will soon be ready to sign it.
Many of the companies present here are involved in preparing new investment projects, which is no less important than expanding trade. Yesterday, we approved a plan that includes 17 major projects — worth more than $20 billion. They encompass the oil and gas sector, mining industry, machine building industry, power engineering, transport, civil aviation, light industry and chemical industry.
All projects are large-scale and economically significant. If they are launched in the next two years, they will significantly improve and expand mutual supplies.
The Russian Government will provide the necessary support.
Of course, it’s important to expand our cooperation, so that it is not confined to the areas that I just mentioned. I hope that joint ventures for the industrial assembly of Russian vehicles will be built in Vietnam in the near future.
We also hope to identify specific areas of cooperation in telecommunications and medical technology. We are continuing a dialogue with our partners on all these issues.
It is important to actively promote direct relations between the Russian regions and the provinces of Vietnam. I would like to draw the attention of our Vietnamese partners to the fact that today we attach particular importance to developing the Russian Far East and Siberia and create special attractive preferential conditions.
Just recently, a law entered into force that establishes a special legal framework for conducting business in priority development areas.
As a matter of fact, we followed the example of such territorial entities that were actively promoted in Southeast Asia and so beneficial for these economies. Of course, this calls for expedited land use procedures and hiring arrangements for highly-skilled foreign personnel, tax exemptions and other incentives, as well as free customs zone procedures. Before making their decisions, businesses always weigh the possible advantages and disadvantages.
I’d like to assure you that the timing is right for Vietnamese companies still exploring the possibility of working on the Russian market. We are now forming such areas, and we have a certain approach regarding how and with whom to form them. The overall economic situation is favourable for this kind of investment, so we will take special care of the international companies that are interested.
The Vietnamese-Russian Bank was created specifically for providing financing and lending services to Russian and Vietnamese businesses. I hope our colleagues will say a few words about this structure. The bank will celebrate its tenth birthday this year. We need to ensure its active involvement in such work, as I discussed with my colleagues in Hanoi yesterday. We must consider using unconventional forms of cooperation and financial interaction, including, for example, using national currencies in our mutual settlements. We use similar arrangements with some other countries, including certain economies in Southeast Asia. I think it's time to think about using national currencies in the settlements between Russia and Vietnam.
Clearly, it takes more than just bilateral relations to work, trade, or invest together.
You also need good personal relations. You should know each other and be aware of how things work in the other country, and how the decision-making process works. Thus, our business relations depend a lot on how often we get together and discuss. My colleagues and I are very pleased to finally be in Ho Chi Minh City, because it really is Vietnam’s business centre, which produces a significant portion of the country’s GDP.
Of course, you are welcome to participate in our forums. We will soon host the Eastern Economic Forum, which will focus on the Russian Far East and the Asia-Pacific region. This will be a dedicated forum. In August, this forum will be held in Vladivostok and you are all invited. In the future, it will be an annual event.
I would like to take this opportunity and wish you all the success in business and thank you for coming to this meeting.
I believe that we will continue these discussions. First, my colleague, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai will make some remarks, and then we’ll discuss other issues.
