Alexey Popov, Russian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)Defining2017 as an eventful year in boosting the Russia-Vietnam ties, Alexey Popov heldthat dialogues between senior leaders of both countries this year within theframework of international meetings and high-level visits will help promote thebilateral partnership.
Sectorsand localities of Vietnam and Russia will continue fostering and expandingcooperation programmes in fuel-energy, culture, tourism, investment and trade,contributing to reinforcing and developing the relations between the twocountries, he said.
Thediplomat noted that Ho Chi Minh City is the leading locality in Vietnam in settingup ties with Russian localities, becoming one of the important factors in thedevelopment of the bilateral comprehensive partnership.
However,he stated that collaboration between Russia and Ho Chi Minh City has yet to matchtheir potential as well as expectations, suggesting that in the coming time,the two sides focus on cooperation programmesin areas of their strengths suchas culture- art and education-training.
As partof activities to implement the cooperation plan between Saint Petersburg and HoChi Minh City for 2016-2018, a delegation from Saint Petersburg will visit HoChi Minh City this year to discuss the organisation of the Russian Culture Dayin the city that aims to strengthen mutual understanding, solidarity andfriendship between the two localities.
Accordingto the Russian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, despite complicatedglobal situation, last year, the Vietnam-Russia relations still progressed inall fields such as politics, economy-trade, military technology, culture andsociety.
In thefirst 11 months of 2016, two-way trade reached 3.5 billion USD, a rise of 16.4percent year on year. The two countries are striving to raise the figure to 10billion USD by 2020.-VNA
VNA
