MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. The Russian-Vietnamese trade increased in 2020 and 2021 despite the pandemic, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc during their meeting in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
"It must be said that our relations exist in the context of present circumstances. Despite the pandemic, trade between our countries increased by more than 15% last year, and by more than 16% over the first nine months of this year," the Russian leader said, opening the meeting.
Putin warmly welcomed his Vietnamese counterpart, and the two leaders hugged each other. The Russian president said he was glad to see Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Russia "in such a normal way," because the two presidents earlier attended various events online.
According to the Russian leader, Russia and Vietnam marked the anniversary of the declaration of strategic partnership this year.
"This year we already celebrated the anniversary of our Declaration of Strategic Partnership, but relations between Russia and Vietnam run much deeper than the decades that we have lived under this memorandum. We remember this, we truly value the level of our strategic partnership with Vietnam," Putin said, adding that his guest’s itinerary in Russia was "quite packed and ambitious."
The Russian leader placed special emphasis on the fact that a package of important documents in various fields, including economic and cultural cooperation, has already been prepared.
He also noted that the two states cooperate actively on the international arena.
"We have similar positions on many international issues, we constantly work within the UN and regional organizations," Putin said. "Vietnam remains our reliable, loyal friend and strategic partner."
"Please convey my best wishes to the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam - we are also in touch. Our foreign ministries maintain regular contact," the Russian leader added.