Permanent Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Pham Xuan Duong held a number of working sessions with Russian economic officials and scholars in Moscow, Russia from August 11-14. On August 11, the Vietnamese official and Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Andrey Slepnev discussed bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation, especially how to realise the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) signed by Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union on May 29, 2015. Both sides expressed hope for quick completion of internal procedures to bring FTA benefits to their people and business communities. Visiting the Irkut Corporation which specialises in jet fighter manufacturing on August 12, the Vietnamese delegation looked for possibilities to promote the partnership with the corporation and learned about its development plans, including the MS-21 passenger jet project. Later, Duong and First Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security Aleksey V. Vovchenko shared experiences in dealing with social welfare issues, including salaries for State employees, pensions and insurance systems. The Russian side expressed its willingness to share experience with Vietnam in this regard. Also on August 12, the Party economic official attended a talk with scholars at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN)’s Institute of World Economy and International Relations, which looked at possible measures to further boost trade ties between the two countries. Meeting Head of the Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Trade Agency Roman Rozhkov and Assistant to the Minister of Far East Development Makarov Rustam on August 13, Duong said Vietnam wants to reinforce multifaceted links with Russia and believes there is substantial room for bilateral coordination, especially in sci-tech, materials, aviation, national defence, oil and gas, marine economy, agro-forestry-fisheries, trade and investment. Rozhkov, for his part, said Russia hopes for more Vietnamese investment and joint-ventures in the Far East. On the same day in the RAN’s Russian Centre for Strategic Research in Asia, the two sides extensively discussed cooperation prospects and the realisation of the FTA between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). At a working session with First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexey E. Likhachev on August 14, Duong stated that Vietnam is continuing to pursue its policy of strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, and asked for sustained joint efforts across diverse areas and for the early approval of the Vietnam – EAEU FTA. Likhachev reiterated Russia’s strategy to prioritise diplomatic ties with Asia-Pacific countries, including Vietnam. He committed his utmost efforts to tighten coordination between the two nations. Both host and guest agreed to direct relevant authorities to raise trade to 10 billion USD by 2020. In the afternoon of the same day, the Vietnamese official and Deputy Minister of Energy Kirill Molodsov confirmed during their meeting that energy is a traditional, strategic and effective area of cooperation, pointing to the extension of the Vietsopetro joint-venture to 2030, and the establishment of Rusvietpetro, Vietgazprom and GazpromViet to expand their joint oil and gas operations in Vietnam, Russia and third countries. They agreed that the two sides will deal with arising difficulties step by step with a view to effectively implementing bilateral agreements on the construction and modernisation of energy and nuclear power facilities in Vietnam. From August 6-10, the Vietnamese delegation held discussions with ministries, agencies and top firms in Belarus.-VNA