HANOI, April 6. /TASS/. Russia and Vietnam will approve a long-term bilateral cooperation plan running through the year 2030, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told reporters on the sidelines of the Russian-Vietnamese business forum.

"As regards trade and economic relations, we can call it a ‘sleeping giant,’ considering the economies of our countries and our mood of brotherly partnership relations," Chernyshenko said. The parties see the vast potential of doubling trade turnover by $10 bln as early as 2025, which is predicated on "mammoth projects our flagship companies, such as Zarubezhneft, Gazprom, Novatek and Russian Railways, are ready to implement here," he noted.

The official underscored the importance of the soonest possible creation of favorable conditions for payments in national currencies, supporting smooth logistics for cargo and passengers between the two countries and simplified visa issuance for citizens of Russia and Vietnam. "We have indeed set ambitious objectives but they are feasible. We agreed that a very detailed plan, like a roadmap, will be developed by the year 2030, which will comprise activities in three main areas: the first one is the general system enabling payments in national currencies, the second is softening the visa regime and the third one, definitely, logistics," Chernyshenko added.