SOCHI, November 25 /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the development of relations with Vietnam was successful and trade turnover between the two countries was growing.

“Relations between Russia and Vietnam develop successfully. We maintain relations at the high political level,” Putin said at a meeting with General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong.

“Last year trade turnover increased by almost 9% Russia’s investments amounted to $9 billion. They continue to grow,” he said.

The visit will give an additional impetus to the development of relations between the two countries, Putin said.

Vietnam also considers development of relations with Russia successful. Before his arrival in Russia Nguyen Phu Trong told TASS that there were promising spheres of cooperation - trade, energy, security, education and science.

Trade turnover increased to almost $4 billion in 2013 as compared with 1990’s when it was at the level of $300-400 million a year.

In the fuel and energy sector Vietsovpetro was the first joint oil enterprise. At present, three new joint ventures were created. They operate successfully both in Vietnam and in Russia - Rusvietpetro, Vietgazprom and Gazpromviet.

Earlier, the Kremlin press service said the key joint projects in the oil and gas sector, nuclear power engineering, industry, including on the draft agreement on a free trade zone between the Customs Union and Vietnam, were in the focus of the talks.

“Vietnam always considers Russia one of its leading partners,” Nguyen Phu Trong said at the meeting with Putin.

One of the purposes of the visit was to prepare measures that would make it possible to reach a qualitatively new level in relations between the two countries, he said.