President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, friends,
Allow me to sincerely welcome you. It is a great pleasure to see you and to have the chance to meet personally.
I think there is no need to advertise the special relationship between Russia and Vietnam. Our relations are unquestionably based on traditions of friendship, trust and mutual assistance.
We already have some anniversaries to celebrate in our recent history – 15 years since we signed the Strategic Cooperation Agreement.
Looking at the different areas of our cooperation, last year, trade between our countries grew by 4 percent, and it was up by 20 percent in the first quarter of this year. We must continue making big efforts on both sides though to improve our overall trade structure.
We are very pleased to see you here, and to receive your high-level delegation.
Welcome!
Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc (retranslated): Mr President,
I am very pleased to have this chance to meet with you today. You are a big friend of the Vietnamese people. We treasure and consider very important the attention you give to our relations and the feelings you have for our country and people.
I had very substantial talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues. Eight agreements and cooperation contracts in various areas were signed during my visit.
I also attended the groundbreaking ceremony of a milk processing plant in Moscow Region. This project is worth $2.7 billion and is a major undertaking.
We are very happy to be here. I would also like to say that at its recent 12th congress, the Vietnamese Communist Party stressed its determination and the entire Vietnamese leadership’s political will to continue, strengthen and develop our comprehensive strategic partnership with the Russian Federation.
I would like to congratulate you on the Russian Federation’s recent achievements. We see how you are steadfastly overcoming the difficulties and achieving victory.
Let me confirm that I was tasked with expressing the position of our party and country that we consider Russia and our Russian friends very important for us. Russia is our strategic partner and we must do our best to make good use of the potential we have on both sides to develop our relations in both countries’ interest.
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