MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. Hanoi has set its sights on enhancing relations with Moscow along many lines, said Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son at a press conference on Tuesday following his negotiations with Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov.
"In addition to our partnership in battling COVID-19, we are going to step up our cooperation in all areas, including politics, defense, and security, through all our channels, especially through party and government ones. We will actively prepare for top-level visits. We also intend to enhance our cooperation so that economic interaction between our countries will correspond to the high level of [mutual] confidence," the Vietnamese top diplomat vowed.
Vietnam’s foreign minister pointed out that Hanoi hoped to intensify dialogue with Moscow in the fields of investment, science, and staff training. "We will improve our legal framework for bilateral cooperation, and make the most of the opportunities and the potential that the Free Trade Agreement concluded between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union have to offer," he concluded.
Bui Thanh Son spotlighted the high level of bilateral interaction amid the coronavirus pandemic. He pointed out that Moscow and Hanoi had managed to maintain positive trade dynamics and boost bilateral trade in 2020. However, the minister lamented that the pandemic-related restrictions had adversely affected the Russian-Vietnamese cross years, resulting in the postponement of many planned activities.