Russia, Vietnam sign 15 documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation in different fields

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia and Vietnam on Thursday signed 15 documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam in the capital Hanoi.

The documents signed, which were listed in a Kremlin statement, aim to expand bilateral cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in areas such as energy, transport, and higher education.

Among the documents listed include a joint statement on deepening Russia-Vietnam's comprehensive strategic partnership in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of both countries signing a friendship treaty, as well as a roadmap for Moscow to build a nuclear technology center in the Southeast Asian nation.

Earlier Thursday, Putin arrived in Vietnam on a state visit following a two-day official trip to North Korea. The Russian president's visit to Hanoi is the first by a foreign leader since To Lam was elected President of Vietnam last month.

In a live joint news conference with his counterpart following the ceremony, Putin thanked Vietnam’s leadership for organizing his visit, as well as for their hospitality and “warm welcome."

Putin said the talks were held in a "constructive and business-like atmosphere," indicating that Russia and Vietnam will improve the efficiency of bilateral cooperation on energy and gas projects to create "favorable conditions for the work of our companies."

He described talks on a large-scale infrastructure project connecting Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok to Ho Chi Minh City as "promising," saying the two countries are increasing cooperation in tourism and agriculture.

“Our countries are consistently switching to national currencies in financial settlements and are striving to build stable channels of credit and banking cooperation,” he said, adding that they also paid significant attention to trade and investment interaction.

He said that his counterpart and he discussed a number of regional and international issues, expressing mutual interest in developing a "reliable and adequate security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region based on the principles of non-use of force and peaceful settlement of disputes."