Vietnamese, Russian businesses seek cooperation opportunities

 Russia is willing to help Vietnamese entrepreneurs implement their projects in the country, said a Russian commercial representative in Vietnam.

Kapustin Nikolay was speaking at a Vietnam-Russia Business Forum in Hanoi on October 20. He also proposed establishing a free trade area (FTA), saying it will open up opportunities for Vietnamese products to more successfully penetrate the Russian market.

The FTA will also help remove non-tariff barriers and reduce business expenses, thus improving their competitive edge, he said.

Participants in the forum, jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Moscow Association of Entrepreneurs, agreed that Vietnam-Russia relations have developed with two-way trade increasing sharply in recent times. Vietnam’s exports to Russia have also seen significant growth in both value and the variety of goods.

Russian businesses expressed their hope to cooperate with their Vietnamese partners in bio-technology, medicine, pharmacy, energy and mechanics.

Export-import revenue between Vietnam and Russia reached US$2.45 billion in 2010, a fourfold increase against 2000, and the two countries aim to increase this figure to US$3 billion by 2012. However, these figures do not tally with each country’s potential.

To date cooperation between Vietnamese and Russian businesses has fallen short of its mark, said Nguyen Thanh Hung from Nam An Co. Ltd, and he hopes to find more Russian business partners at the forum.

Vietnam’s main exports to Russia are seafood, textiles, garment, and footwear products, instant noodles, agricultural and forestry products, vegetables, rubber, coffee, and rice, while it imports petrol, steel, and industrial equipment from the country.

There are now 20 Vietnamese-invested projects operating in Russia, worth an estimated US$1.7 billion.

(VOV)

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