Vietnam, Russia Leaders Eye Stronger Trade Ties, New Cooperation Areas

Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President To Lam and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin met in Moscow on September 8, 2026, agreeing to strengthen bilateral trade cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration, particularly in energy and advanced technologies. During the meeting, held as part of Lam's state visit to Russia, Mishustin expressed his belief that the visit would mark a turning point in bilateral cooperation. Both leaders acknowledged progress in various sectors, including trade, investment, science and technology, education, people-to-people exchanges, and tourism. They noted that previously raised difficulties and obstacles have been addressed and improvements have been made. Lam called for stronger two-way investment, encouraging Vietnamese businesses to invest in agriculture in Russia and Russian businesses in Vietnam's industrial sector, citing the success of TH Group. He also emphasized the importance of enhancing transport and logistics connectivity to expand bilateral trade, with discussions focusing on improving maritime, rail, and multimodal transport efficiency. Lam highlighted Vietnam's position as the first country to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and urged Russia to encourage other EAEU members to open markets, remove trade barriers, and eliminate the threshold-based trade remedy mechanism applied to Vietnamese goods. The two sides spoke highly of their oil and gas cooperation projects and agreed to continue developing energy ties, exploring new fields such as new energy and biomedical technology. They also recognized the potential of science and technology to drive bilateral relations, agreeing to leverage Russia's strengths in basic science and engineering with Vietnam's development needs. Support for human resource training in specialized fields where Russia has strengths and Vietnam has demand was also discussed. Cooperation in culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges was agreed upon to foster deeper understanding of bilateral history and traditions among younger generations. Mishustin affirmed that the Russian government will closely coordinate with its Vietnamese counterpart to implement agreements reached at the highest level and translate political orientations into tangible cooperation outcomes. Source: VnExpress International