Vietnam and Russia have agreed to triple bilateral trade value to US$10 billion by 2020 from US$3.55 billion in 2017 and US$3.45 billion in the first three quarters this year, according to the government portal. 
Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomes Russian counterpart Medvedev in Hanoi on November 19. Photo: Chinhphu.vn
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as a way to make economic cooperation match with the long-lasting multi-sectoral bilateral ties.
Medvedev’s visit to Vietnam, the fourth of its kind, is reported to focus on trade, investment, industry, and energy.
Currently, Russia is Vietnam’s biggest weapons supplier and Russian companies are involved in several Vietnamese energy projects. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom, Zarubezhnev, and Rosneft are operating multi-million dollar oil and gas exploitation projects offshore Vietnam while PetroVietnam has been allowed to join an energy project in the Eurasian country.
Since the free trade agreement between Vietnam and Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) came into force in October 2016, the two-way trade rose 31% after a year.
But “economic cooperation remains modest compared to politic relations”, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh said. He pointed out three reasons hindering the economic ties, namely a lack of mechanisms, market information, and payment mechanism.
During the visit, the two leaders have affirmed to boost the payment of domestic currencies for quick trade growth.
