Medvedev praises "exclusively high level of trust" between Russia and Vietnam

HANOI, April 6. /TASS/. Exclusively high level of trust between Russia and Vietnam helps the two countries expand cooperation in key spheres, including oil and gas sector, nuclear energy and military-technical sphere, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday at talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung. Medvedev added that he looks forward to a visit to Ho Chi Minh City, where he will hold a meeting with representatives of business circles of Russia and Vietnam. Russia and Vietnam are holding an active dialogue that has already entered its final stage on creating a free trade zone between Hanoi and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Ahead of the visit, Medvedev said that issues of industrial processing and providing services were left for discussion. "We really moved forward significantly on many positions and would want to finish the talks in the nearest future," the prime minister told Vietnamese media. The document can become the first agreement between EUU and a separate third country. In fact, Vietnam will get access to the market of Russia and its partner-countries. The new integration association - the EEU - started operating on January 1 this year, replacing the Eurasian Economic Community, which officially ceased to exist in October. The union includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia with Kyrgyzstan expected joining it in May. Membership is open to other states assessed as sharing the assembly's aims and principles, its founders say. Economic cooperation with Vietnam will get a new dimension once Hanoi signs an agreement on free trade zone with the union, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko said earlier. "We expect Russian-Vietnamese trade turnover to grow to $10 billion by 2020," Prikhodko said. In 2014, the volume of trade between the two countries stood at $3.8 billion. Apart from Medvedev and Prikhodko, the Russian delegation to Vietnam includes Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov. The visit will last until April 7. Read more