Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh has just held talks with Assistant to the President and Chairman of the Russian Federation Maritime Council Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev on September 17th in Hanoi.
The talks saw the participation of leaders of units under the Ministry of Construction; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Vietnam Bezdetko Gennady Stepanovich; leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, representatives of the Ministry of Transport and corporations and enterprises of the Russian Federation.
Speaking at the talks, Assistant to the President and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev highly appreciated the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the Russian Federation, and emphasized the level of science and technology as well as the shipbuilding capacity of the Russian Federation, including fishing vessels and passenger ships.
Patrushev emphasised Vietnam’s important role in Asia’s shipbuilding sector and expressed Moscow’s wish to strengthen cooperation with Hanoi in shipbuilding, maritime trade, and logistics. He also encouraged Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the Northern Sea Route – a strategic Arctic shipping route linking Europe and Asia that significantly reduces shipping time and costs.
Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh was at the talks.
In addition, the Russian Federation expressed its desire to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in researching and developing new shipbuilding plants, modernizing Vietnam's existing shipyards, and focusing on joint efforts to establish research and testing laboratories in the field of shipbuilding.
Mr. Patrushev emphasized that maritime cooperation is a key pillar in the strategic comprehensive partership between the two countries. He expressed confidence that the meeting and discussions with Minister Tran Hong Minh and leaders of the Ministry of Construction would open new opportunities for both sides to advance joint cooperation programs in the near future.
Attending the meeting, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation A. Karimov proposed that the two sides promote cooperation in research on the production of robots, communications, biological, geological, and oil pipeline production, and invited Vietnam to attend the Exhibition and NEVA Conference. It is the largest civil shipbuilding exhibition in Eastern Europe and the entire post-Soviet space, one of the ten largest exhibitions in the world in the shipbuilding industry.
Assistant to the President, Chairman of the Russia Federal Maritime Council Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev spoke at the talks.
Meanwhile, representatives of Russian corporations and enterprises such as FESCO and Delo shared the results of cooperation between the two sides in the field of transport and logistics, and expressed their desire to promote cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of shipbuilding, transport and logistics, logistics infrastructure as well as strengthen the legal framework for bilateral training and research.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister Tran Hong Minh highly appreciated the proposals of Assistant to the President, Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade A. Karimov and leaders of Russian corporations and enterprises, and said that this is a suitable opportunity for the two sides to promote Vietnam - Russia maritime cooperation to new heights.
Minister Tran Hong Minh suggested that the Russian Federation soon complete the procedures to sign the Protocol amending the 1993 Merchant Maritime Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Russian Sea Council and the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam.
Minister Tran Hong Minh and comrade Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev exchanged souvenirs at the talks.
In addition, Minister Tran Hong Minh proposed that the two sides soon discuss and complete internal procedures to be able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual Understanding between the Russian Maritime Council and the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam at the same time as the signing of the Protocol amending the Maritime Agreement.
In the field of shipbuilding, the Ministry of Construction proposed that the Russian Federation cooperate and participate in the construction of shipbuilding industrial zones in Vietnam; welcomed Russian investors to research and participate in investing in Vietnam's seaport system in accordance with current regulations of Vietnam and commitments to market opening in the WTO.
“The two sides need to encourage and create conditions for Vietnamese and Russian businesses to expand transport and logistics activities, especially the Vietnam - Vladivostok container route; FESCO and Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) research the possibility of establishing a joint venture to exploit transport routes connecting Vietnam and Russia; coordinate the exchange of crew and ship data to implement administrative reform, full online procedures in accordance with the International Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL 65); and the Russian side supports the development and organization of short-term and long-term capacity building training programs,” said the minister.
Overview of the talks
Minister Tran Hong Minh highly appreciated the North-South International Transport Corridor initiative proposed by the Russian Federation and stated that participationg in the North-South International Transport Corridor Project will open up new opportunities for Vietnamese goods to be able to seek new markets, and at the same time, assigned the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration to preside over the study of the possibility of participating in the Project. The Minister also assigned the Vietnam Maritime and Waterways Administration as a focal point to provide information to Russian investors interested.
At the end of the talks, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh and Assistant to the President and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council Nikolai platonovich Patrushev agreed that the two sides will continue to exchange information and promote cooperation in various fields, especially maritime and shipbuilding in the coming time.