(VOV) – The Kremlin is bent on turning the Customs Union of Russia into a throbbing financial centre and they need Vietnam’s help to accomplish the task.
That was the message from speakers at a seminar in HCM City on December 11, which aimed to help Vietnamese businesses fully gauge the opportunities for expanded exports to the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan markets.
Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Director Ho Xuan Lam of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) said Vietnam and Russia have been working cohesively to promote cooperation in economics, trade, culture and education.
The relationship has been highly beneficial for both countries Lam said, adding that Russia views Vietnam as a bridge to the ASEAN region and conversely Vietnam has looked to Russia as the key to piercing and making inroads into the entire Custom Union region.
Lam underscored the point that the two sides have been putting the final touches on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which should be signed by late 2014. The FTA should provide the foundation for devising a concrete strategy to explore each other’s markets more fully.
Kapustkinh Nikolay, a Russian commercial representative in Vietnam, in turn said the time has long past for Vietnamese business enterprises to seize the initiative and invest in doing business in Russia.
The government has been actively improving the business climate and when the FTA comes into effect Vietnamese businesses would have ample opportunity to enjoy import tariffs of zero percent, he said.
In the first nine months of the year, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Russia hit more than US$2 billion with Vietnamese exports to Russia reaching nearly US$1.44 billion and its imports from the market tallying in at US$768.4 million.
In particular, the trade turnover between HCM City and Russia reached more than US$250 million during the period. At present, Russian businesses have invested in 20 projects with a capital investment of roughly US$44 million.
At the event, the ITPC also unveiled a plan to send a delegation of local businesses this coming January 17-24 to conduct a market survey with an eye to boosting boost trade.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
