Putin, PM Chinh agree to intensify oil-gas cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh have agreed to continue promoting the expansion of activities by Vietnamese and Russian oil and gas companies in each country.

On the sidelines of the expanded BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday evening (local time), the two leaders stressed the importance of energy and oil & gas cooperation, which forms one of the pillars of the Vietnam-Russia relations, and recognized the positive results in this area, the Vietnamese government’s news portal reported.

The two sides wished to further promote energy cooperation projects that meet the development demand of each country and align with current trends of green growth and sustainable development.

Looking ahead, they agreed to intensify cooperation in technology transfer, workforce training, and the formation of an expert team for Vietnam.

Revising the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, the two leaders expressed satisfaction with its recent progress shown recently during all-level visits, meetings, and exchanges. At the same time, bilateral trade has witnessed strong growth.

However, Putin and Chinh agreed that these results have yet to meet the set goals and required closer coordination to effectively implement cooperation, particularly in terms of economy, trade, investment, and tourism.

They emphasized the necessity to expand cooperation into new areas such as renewable energy and infrastructure.

PM Chinh stated that Vietnam is willing to create favorable conditions for Russian enterprises interested in investing in Vietnam. He also called on the Russian government to collaborate with Vietnam to deploy cooperation in all areas, ensuring the harmonious interests of both sides.

The two leaders also discussed specific measures to better cooperation in other areas where the two countries have great potential and opportunities, such as science-technology, education-training, tourism, and transport.

The two leaders welcomed and acknowledged the signing and exchange of cooperation documents by agencies and enterprises of the two countries during PM Chinh's trip to Kazan. Details were not revealed.

Nuclear, oil & gas discussions

During his stay in Kazan, Chinh met with several Russian government officials to further ties between the two countries.

At a Wednesday meeting, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said his government is ready to participate in constructing a large nuclear power plant and land-based or floating small modular reactors in Vietnam.

The two sides discussed cooperation in fuel and energy, such as opportunities for Vietnam-Russia oil-gas joint venture Vietsovpetro to make new field development projects on Vietnam’s sea shelf; renewable energy; education-science; tourism; banking-finance; and agriculture.

The same day, Russian Minister of Energy Sergey Tsivilev affirmed that his ministry looks forward to more cooperation projects in new spheres in the time ahead, meeting the development needs of each country in such areas as climate change, energy transition, and the use of green energy, clean energy, and atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

PM Chinh called on the Russian minister to facilitate the operations of Vietnamese and Russian businesses in each other's territory, and back the resumption and expansion of cooperation in training officials for Vietnam in the fields of energy, and oil & gas.

At a Thursday meeting, director general of Russia's Rosatom State Atomiс Energy Corporation (Rosatom) Alexey Likhachev affirmed his agency’s readiness to share its experience with Vietnam and train Vietnamese personnel.

PM Chinh appreciated Russia's cooperation and support in designing and operating the Da Lat Nuclear Reactor and developing the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center. The government chief discussed the potential and possibility of applying nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.