Moscow (VNA) – A workshop to promoteeconomic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia was held by theVietnamese Embassy in Russia at the Hanoi – Moscow trade centre on December 22.

Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh, in his opening remarks, highlighted the positiveresults of the Vietnam – Russia economic and trade cooperation in 2020.

Despite severe impacts posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade ties became abright spot in the bilateral relations as two-way trade hitting 4.05 billion USDin the first ten months of 2020, up 7.02 percent year-on-year, he said.

The diplomat emphasized the importance for the two sides to continue maintainingand creating more motivation for further fostering bilateral trade, as well as incorporatetheir strengths to create greater benefits, thus contributing to strengthening theVietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

He also pointed out some areas with great potential for cooperation between thetwo countries in the coming time, including agriculture, dairy farming, anddairy product processing, and forming new value chains in fishery cooperation,hi-technology and information.

Dr.Irina Korgun from the Centre for Russian Strategy underthe Institute ofEconomics in the Russian Academy of Sciences said Vietnam’s participation inthe Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is anopportunity that Russia can take advantage of to promote supply of goods toAsian markets through establishing joint ventures in manufacturing andservices, as well as increase its presence in Asia.

Meanwhile, Regina Budarina from the Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Association'sbusiness centre stressed the need for the Russian side to develop its logisticsinfrastructure in Vietnam, including transit ports and cold storages, in orderto improve competitiveness of Russian businesses in the Southeast Asian nation.

According to Igor Tsybin, Managing Director of the Russian-Vietnamese Business Council, by moving up 14 places to rank 69thamong 190 economies in the World Bank's Doing Business 2018 and amongthe top 10 countries in the world in terms of foreign direct investmentefficiency index in 2020, Vietnam became an attractive destination for Russianinvestors, with its advantages such as political stability, large market, lowelectricity price and labour costs, stable inflation rate, and open economy.

The event offered a venue for representatives from the twosides to understand each other's needs and strengths, clearly identifyopportunities and challenges that may affect the two countries' economic andtrade cooperation in the coming time.

Participants proposed solutions and recommendations on models and areas forfuture cooperation towards promoting the economic and trade cooperation betweenthe two nations./.