Vietnam

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) has a total area of 331,700 square kilometres. The country's population is 90.5 million. The capital city is Hanoi. The President is Tran Dai Quang.

For the past 25 years, Vietnam has shown the highest GDP growth rates in the region. In 2015, it was 6.6 percent at $204 billion. Vietnam's trade with Russia is valued at $3.9 billion.

Diplomatic relations between Russia and Vietnam were established on January 30, 1950.

Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian country with which Russia has relations based on a comprehensive strategic partnership. The political dialogue of the two countries at the top and high level is very intensive. The two countries' leaders meet regularly on the sidelines of multilateral events.

Vietnam was the first country with which the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, signed a free trade agreement (May 29, 2015).

The trusting character of bilateral relations is evidenced by close cooperation in the defence, technology and security sectors.

Trade and investment cooperation is gaining momentum. This activity is coordinated within the framework of the Russian-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which is chaired by the countries' deputy prime ministers.

The high-level Russia-Vietnam working group for priority investment projects, chaired by the industry and trade ministers, is an effective tool for advancing investment cooperation.

Fuel and energy remain a priority area of bilateral strategic partnership. A key project in this area is Vietnam's first nuclear power plant that is being built with assistance from the Rosatom State Corporation. There are plans for the comprehensive development of the country's nuclear industry: developing a legal framework, personnel training programmes and establishing a nuclear science and technology centre in Vietnam.

Oil and gas exploration and production is a traditional area of bilateral collaboration. Vietsovpetro (established in 1981) is a leading joint venture in the oil and gas sector. Russian companies work on the Vietnamese continental shelf (Gazprom, including as part of the Vietgazprom joint operating company, and Rosneft) and there are growing co-production projects in Russia (Rusvietpetro, Gazpromviet).

Cooperation in science and technology is intensively expanding. The Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Centre, established more than a quarter of a century ago, is a leading scientific research institution that has no equivalent anywhere in the world.

Cooperation in education is a traditional priority. In recent years, tens of thousands of highly qualified specialists from Vietnam have been trained in Russia.

Cultural exchanges are expanding. National days of culture, themed film festivals, performances by art groups and exhibits of pictures and photographs are held in Russia and Vietnam on a regular basis.

Interesting facts:

Vietnam is the world's largest supplier of black pepper and second largest exporter of rice and coffee. In 2015, mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices accounted for over 33 percent of Vietnamese exports.

In recent years, Vietnam's popularity as a tourist destination for Russians has been growing steadily, among other things, thanks to visa-free access to Vietnam for up to 15 days. In 2015, about 340,000 Russian tourists visited Vietnam.