State President Truong Tan Sang and Russian President Vladimir Putincommitted to strengthening the bilateral comprehensive strategicpartnership during their talks in Moscow on May 9.

President Sang thanked the host for his invitation to attend the 70 thcommemorative anniversary of the Russian victory in the Great PatrioticWar, which he said motivated and laid the groundwork for independencestruggles across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Both sides expressed their satisfaction with all-level visits to fostermutual political trust between the two nations and agreed to maintainthe current mechanism.

Economically, they concurredthat the signing of a free trade area agreement between Vietnam and theEurasian Economic Community later this May will support the goal oflifting Vietnam-Russia trade to 10 billion USD by 2020.

Speaking highly of oil-and-gas companies and joint-ventures working inVietnam’s continental shelf and in Russia, the leaders vowed allpossible support for them as well as for new investors in petrochemicalsand refineries.

Links across investment, finance-banking, industry, agriculture and mining are also expected to progress substantially.

Both host and guest agreed to deepen joint national defence-securitycollaboration with initial focuses on personnel and technical training.

They called for intensified engagements instrengths, including considering opening an aquaculture, seafood andprocessing joint-venture in Primorye region and a light industry zone inMoscow province.

The guest thanked President Putinand Russian authorities for their support to overseas Vietnamesenationals in the country.

Meeting EgyptianPresident Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi the same day, President Sang spoke of theneed to boost economic-trade-investment coordination by facilitatingbusiness visits and establishing a Business Council.

He reminded his Egyptian counterpart of the upcoming fifth meeting ofthe Vietnam-Egypt Joint Committee which is due to sign severalcooperative deals.

In the morning the same day,State President Sang and his spouse, together with other distinguishedguests, watched the Victory Day parade, the largest in Russian history,through the Red Square.

They also observed one minute of silence in memory of Russian soldiers and allies killed in the war.

In the evening, the Vietnamese leader met with Vietnamese embassystaff and asked them to perpetuate their role as a bridge between thetwo nations.-VNA