Saint Petersburg (VNA) – TheVietnam-Russia Business Forum took place in Saint Petersburg on May 29 with theparticipation of 18 enterprises from Vietnam and 60 firms of Russia.

The event created an opportunity for Vietnamesefirms to introduce their products with high quality, eye-catching designs, andcompetitive prices to Russian businesses, distributors, and customers.

For Russian exporters and investors, this was a greatchance to know more about Vietnam as an attractive, safe, and potentialdestination which boasts free trade relations with dozens of countriesworldwide, including G20 and G7 nations.

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Trade PromotionAgency under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that tradecooperation between Vietnam and Russia has developed positively in recentyears.

Under the Look East policy, Russia considersVietnam an important partner in the Asia-Pacific region, while Vietnam alwaysgive top priority to expanding comprehensive cooperation with Russia, Phu said.

Two-way trade has continuously increased overthe past time, reaching 1.14 billion USD in the first quarter of 2019, ayear-on-year rise of 12.4 percent, he noted.

Phu added that Vietnamese businesses will boostinvestment in Russia in the coming time with the support of theSaint-Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Moscow authorities, andRussian governmental agencies.

Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Russia Duong HoangMinh said in 2018, Vietnam recorded gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.08percent, the highest level since 2008, while also listed among the economieswith the fastest growth rate in the region and the world.

Most of the investment capital inflow intoVietnam mainly comes from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, andChina, he said, adding that foreign investors choose Vietnam as an investmentdestination due to its political stability, expanded cooperation, high economicgrowth, competitive product prices, abundant human resources, global economicintegration, open policies with attractive preferences, and strategic positionin the Southeast Asian market and the East-West economic corridor.

Vietnam is calling for investment in the fieldsusing modern and environmentally-friendly technologies, infrastructuredevelopment projects, information technology, and projects supportingelectrical engineering, garment-textile, and automation industries, he added.

Vice President of the Saint-Petersburg Chamberof Commerce and Industry Elena Zheltukhina recognised important milestones inthe bilateral cooperation, especially the celebration of the 25th signinganniversary of the treaty on the basic principles of the bilateral friendship andthe 70th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2019.

After Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’svisit to Russia, including his working trip to Saint-Petersburg, many Russianbusinesses in the city have shown their interest in cooperation with Vietnamand the promotion of trade exchanges, she said.

Saint Petersburg is also a world leading attractivetourism destination and as such, businesses of the two sides will have manyfavourable conditions to develop common tourism products to attract touristsfrom the respective markets, she added.–VNA