The 7th Eastern Economic Forum kicked off in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok this week, with thousands of guests gathering to talk about the development of the country and the Far East.

A business dialogue between Vietnam and Russia took place in the Russian city of Vladivostok on September 6 within the framework of the ongoing 7th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), VNA reported Tuesday.

At the dialogue. Photo: VNA

In his remarks delivered virtually, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi said this is the first business dialogue between the two countries held as part of the EEF, with a large number of enterprises from both sides in attendance, reflecting Russia’s interest in stepping up ties with Vietnam.

It is also a good opportunity for Vietnamese and Russian agencies and enterprises to discuss ways to expand partnerships in the coming time, he said.

The Vietnamese diplomat affirmed that Vietnam and Russia boast a good friendship and Russia remains a priority in Vietnam’s foreign policy. The Vietnamese Embassy stands ready to promote the cooperation between the Far Eastern region and Vietnam and facilitate it to grow further, bringing benefits to people and businesses from both sides, he stated.

Putting forward five recommendations for the expansion of two-way trade, Vietnamese trade representative in Vladivostok Nguyen Hong Thanh said Vietnam is willing to act as a gateway to connect Russia and the world, given that the Southeast Asian country is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements and ranks fifth in Asia in terms of economic openness.

At the dialogue. Photo: VNA

Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergey Levin, for his part, said Russia and Vietnam have great potential in trade since their goods supplement each other, and Russia has major opportunities to exports food and foodstuff to Vietnam.

On the same day, the connection between the marine freight route between Vietnam and Vladivostok in Russia and a rail route from Vladivostokt to Moscow was launched.

The connection uses a digital security mechanism so customers and related agencies can track goods moving on the route in real time, and make it possible to implement customs clearance of goods even at the end point in Moscow.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the board of directors of state-owned Russian Railways (RZD) Oleg Belozerov highlighted that an important element of transportation is saving time, and connecting the two routes helps reduce time and administrative procedures when transporting goods from Vietnam to western Russia.

Meanwhile, President of Russia's Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) Arkady Korostelev said in a short time after establishing a direct sea freight route from Vladivostok to Vietnam and vice versa, FESCO has transported 5,000 containers back and forth between the two countries, adding that FESCO plans to increase the frequency on this route.

For his part, Vietnamese Consul General in Vladivostok Nguyen Dang Hien applauded FESCO’s decision to establish the direct sea route to transport goods from Vietnam's seaports to Vladivostok in late May.

The connection of this sea route with the Vladivostok - Moscow rail rout is an important event, contributing to further strengthening the import-export cooperation between Russia and Vietnam towards lifting turnover between the two countries, he said.

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