MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union will sign a free trade zone agreement by the end of this month, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, who is currently in Moscow to take part in the VE-Day celebrations, said on Friday.

"The agreement on a free trade zone between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, which is due to be signed in May, will open big possibilities for both sides in building up trade and economic cooperation and will make it possible to boost bilateral trade with Russia to more than $10 billion by the year 2020," he said.

"Vietnam highly estimates relations of comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia and thinks it as its top priority to develop them further. These time-tested relations were raised to this high level in 2012," he noted. "The two countries are developing cooperation in the military technical, energy and scientific-and-technological spheres, as well as in the areas of education and professional training, and cultural exchanges. The sides are implementing such large-scale projects as the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear plant, which has become a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the two countries in the 21st century."

On behalf of the Vietnamese president, Vietnam’s Hanoi Centre of Culture in the Russian capital on Friday organized a reception on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the unification of Vietnam and the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. "We understand the significance of the Great Patriotic War and the USSR’s contribution to the victory over Nazism and preservation of global peace," Truong Tan Sang stressed. "This victory opened a path to independence for many nations, including the people of Vietnam." The Vietnamese president expressed gratitude to those who defended Vietnam’s independence and unity, shoulder to shoulder with the Vietnamese people.