Regarding prospects for future trade development between Vietnam and Russia, some experts emphasised that the list of import-export goods of both nations are not in competition but complement each other.
Russia is an important and traditional market of Vietnam with a population of 140 million and a market that favours consumer products from Asian nations thanks to their low-cost and diversity, experts said.
Tran Chi Tam, former Vietnamese minister-counsellor in Russia said Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are speeding up the signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and hope to sign it later this year, creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to promote their advantages and exploit the huge market through import-export activities.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said with the signing of the FTA between the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and Vietnam, two-way trade turnover is likely to increase to US$12 billion by 2018.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s European Market Department Deputy Director Tran Ngoc Quan said Russian businesses are very keen on investing in Vietnam’s economic sectors such as petroleum and mineral exploration, transport, communications, satellite, and automobile assembly.
Some Vietnamese businesses announced they are formulating plans to cooperate with Russian partners and invest in the Eurasian nation’s market. As of June 2014, Vietnamese businesses have invested over US$2.47 billion in 17 Russian projects.
