Deputy Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Saint Petersburg City (Russia) Kalganov Viacheslav Genadevich spoke at the meeting.
At a working session between Vietnamese and Russian businesses in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of December 4, Deputy Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Saint Petersburg (Russia) Kalganov Viacheslav Genadevich emphasized that the Russian delegation came here "not to visit" but to sign contracts.
"At the upcoming Saint Petersburg Business Forum in Vietnam, we hope to create a basis to promote the signing of contracts between the parties to strengthen economic cooperation," he said.
In addition, Mr. Genadevich said that Saint Petersburg city will organize Vietnam Week from May 19-25, 2024, including many activities with the coordination of many departments of the city such as the Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Planning and Investment and Department of Foreign Affairs.
He pointed out that the event was held on the occasion of Uncle Ho's birthday, and expressed his hope that the event would welcome many Vietnamese people to attend.
Previously, on June 30, the inauguration ceremony of the statue of President Ho Chi Minh took place in Saint Petersburg. The ceremony took place in a solemn and emotional atmosphere in the city where he set foot 100 years ago on his journey to find the path to national liberation.
Favorable conditions
At the meeting, Mr. Duong Hoang Minh, Vietnam's Trade Counselor in the Russian Federation, said that he was sent by the ambassador to join the Saint Petersburg delegation to coordinate in promoting cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Saint Petersburg to a new level.
Russian delegation seeks information about Vietnamese businesses
He reiterated that Vietnam and Russia signed a free trade agreement in 2015, creating many favorable conditions to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, along with the comprehensive strategic partnership established by the two countries in 2012, which are two important legal bases to promote bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.
"In 2021, trade turnover between Vietnam and Russia reached 7.2 billion USD, nearly double that of 2016. After the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the turnover between the two countries decreased slightly but now shows signs of growth again," he said.
According to Mr. Minh, the Russian economy has recovered very quickly and GDP is expected to grow by more than 3% this year. "We live in Russia and see clearly that the economy has grown strongly in recent months. Difficulties in trade cooperation such as payment, transportation... are now gradually being resolved," he said.
Citing many favorable factors regarding flights, payments, visas, etc., he emphasized that these conditions are available for businesses of the two countries to increase cooperation.
In addition, he said that in the past 5 years, Vietnamese food products have appeared in many supermarket chains in Russia and it is estimated that there are currently about 1,000 Vietnamese restaurants in Russia. "I hope that businesses will exchange and find cooperation opportunities between the two cities and the two countries. The Embassy's Trade Office is ready to closely coordinate to promote cooperation," he said.
Looking forward to strengthening cooperation
According to Mr. Peter Hong, Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Permanent Vice President and General Secretary of the Association of Overseas Vietnamese Entrepreneurs (BAOOV), over the past 60 years, Vietnam and the Russian Federation have continuously strengthened their solidarity, cooperation and friendship.
Besides representatives of many Vietnamese and Russian enterprises in Saint Petersburg, attending the meeting and working session were representatives of Vietnamese business associations in countries such as Korea, Japan, and China.
"We are Vietnamese businesses around the world, we really hope to be able to discuss and exchange cooperation on the occasion of the delegation's visit to Ho Chi Minh City this time," said Mr. Hong.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between the Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Abroad and the Association of Vietnamese Enterprises in Russia
According to Ms. Goryshina Olga Anatolievna, Deputy Chairwoman of the Committee on Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade of Saint Petersburg City, the city government always creates the most favorable conditions for businesses, such as funding, tax incentives and financial incentives.
"The city has about 360,000 small and medium-sized enterprises operating, mainly in trade, services and industry. The main industries are machinery and energy manufacturing, medicine and pharmacy, food processing, shipbuilding and water treatment," she introduced.
Speaking at the meeting, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoe, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Kova Paint Group, said that the group's antibacterial paint products were exported to Singapore 20 years ago. "I hope Russia can cooperate to bring this paint to disinfect hospitals and schools," she shared.
At the meeting, representatives of the Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Abroad signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with representatives of the Vietnam Business Association in Russia on coordinating to bring Vietnamese businesses to Saint Petersburg to attend Vietnam Week to promote bilateral cooperation.
"Hopefully, the MOU will be signed so that in May 2024, businesses will come to Saint Petersburg to sign directly. Vietnam is ready and looking forward to hearing about your programs and work so that we can contribute and share to move towards cooperation. We are working with you towards our economic programs," said Mr. Peter Hong.
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