Tatarstan President: Inter-parliamentary interaction is an important area of cooperation between Tatarstan and Vietnam

On December 9, at the Kazan Kremlin, speaking at a meeting with Chairperson of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that Tatarstan attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with Vietnam, which is aimed at strengthening relations between Russia and Vietnam.

Minnikhanov emphasized that Russia and Vietnam are time-tested friends. “Thanks to intensive teamwork, comprehensive strategic partnerships are filled with practical content in many areas,” he said.

Tatarstan President reminded that July of the current year marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on Friendly Relations Between Vietnam and Russia, and next January will mark 70 years since diplomatic ties were established. Moreover, 2019 is the Russian-Vietnamese Cross Year.

“We are grateful to the leadership of our countries for their attention to creating favorable conditions for expanding interregional cooperation. At its level, Tatarstan is ready to contribute to the development of business and cultural ties,” Minnikhanov said.

He said that Tatarstan has serious experience in working with Vietnamese partners. Mutual visits of official and business delegations are made, documents on cooperation are signed. High-tech products of Tatarstan are well known in Vietnam, including KAMAZ trucks and Mi-17 helicopters. Zelenodolsk Shipyard has delivered four Gepard frigates for the needs of the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam. Vietnam intends to buy a third pair of Gepard frigates.

Last year the trade turnover between Tatarstan and Vietnam more than doubled and amounted to 25 million US dollars. However, according to Minnikhanov, the level of mutual trade does not reflect the existing potential of bilateral cooperation. “We need to increase the volume and range of goods,” he stressed.

Tatarstan President noted that there are great opportunities for developing business ties with Vietnam in such areas as oil refining and petrochemicals, power engineering, machine building automotive industry and component manufacturing, IT, medicine and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and other spheres.

“Education is an important area of cooperation. Our schools are in touch with Vietnamese colleagues. As many as 90 students from Vietnam are studying at the regional universities. I think you can really increase their number,” Minnikhanov went on to say.

Tatarstan President also outlined the prospects for cooperation in the field of tourism and sports.

In her turn, Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân thanked Rustam Minnikhanov for his contribution to the development of interregional cooperation between Russia and Vietnam.

She stressed that the National Assembly of Vietnam supports the further strengthening of close cooperation and a comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia. “We believe that this is one of the main priorities of Vietnam’s foreign policy. We always remember the support and assistance that your people rendered to us,”she said.

Chairperson of the National Assembly of Vietnam noted that bilateral trade between Vietnam and Russia is growing every year. “Over nine months of this year, this figure has reached 3.4 billion US dollars. But we have great potential for increasing this volume,” she said.