Dmitry Chernyshenko’s meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Tran Hong Ha
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko had a meeting with Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Russia-Vietnam Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, as part of preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. During the meeting, the parties discussed project cooperation, inter-bank, transport and logistics interaction, tourism, and climate change. In addition, the meeting raised the issue of establishing a Russian-Vietnamese school in Hanoi.
“Vietnam is an old partner of ours. Our relations are based on friendship and trust. After 2023, the two countries’ mutual trade is recovering. At the beginning of this year, the positive dynamics also continued. Following the 24th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russia-Vietnam Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the goal was set to increase mutual trade to $15 billion by 2030. Today Russia and Vietnam are implementing 13 priority investment projects, and we managed to make significant progress in some of them last year. In particular, we can see progress in the implementation of the project to build a Nuclear Science and Technology Centre in Vietnam; the Rosatom State Corporation and the Vietnam Institute of Atomic Energy are working on it. Last year, a contract was signed to conduct a feasibility study for it, and the Russian side has already got down to doing it. We will continue to interact with Vietnam at all levels while expanding work on joint projects,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, co-chair of the Russia-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission.
During the meeting, initiatives in tourism were discussed. According to Dmitry Chernyshenko, Vietnam remains one of the most popular and favoured destinations for Russian tourists. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 500,000 Russians visited Vietnam annually.
“An increase in the number of direct flights between Russia and Vietnam will help restore and expand the tourist flow. We are already seeing the first results: after Russian airlines launched direct flights in the summer of 2023, tourist flow tripled compared to 2022,” he emphasised.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that it was also important to remove other obstacles for free movement of Russian and Vietnamese tourists and to create comfortable conditions for travelling. He thanked the Vietnamese side for extending the term of visa-free stay in Vietnam for Russian citizens from 15 to 45 days. As for Russia, it is facilitating the terms of entry and stay for the Vietnamese tourists. For instance, effective August 2023, a system for Vietnamese citizens to obtain electronic visas to enter Russia has been in place. Dmitry Chernyshenko urged to use this tool more actively and inform the Vietnamese travel industry about this opportunity.
Last year, during the 24th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, the parties agreed on setting up a Southeastern Centre of Artificial Intelligence. Under the project, using the AI to monitor tropical cyclones is in the pipeline; the plans include launching a project on monitoring farming lands in Vietnam through AI.
“We believe that innovative Russian developments will help reduce agricultural losses and improve living standards in the rural areas of Vietnam,” Deputy Prime Minister said.
They also discussed establishing a joint Russian-Vietnamese school with teaching in Russian in the Vietnamese capital city.
”The proposal to establish the institution was supported during the meeting of the heads of both states in October 2023. Plans are that the school's educational activities will be carried out under a joint integrated program with in-depth study of physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology, as well as enhanced preparation for contests and Olympiads. Russian and Vietnamese certificates will be issued based on the results of studies,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.
In conclusion, the Deputy Prime Minister noted the importance of holding regular meetings and exchanging views.
“I am sure that the 25th meeting of the Russian-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation will give a new impetus to our bilateral cooperation. I suggest holding it in Moscow, in September,” concluded Dmitry Chernyshenko.
