Vietnam Deputy PM calls on Russian firms to scale up investment in energy, digital technology, pharmaceuticals

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long has urged Russian businesses to ramp up investment in Vietnam’s energy, oil & gas, digital technology, AI, and pharmaceutical sectors.

The official made the call while receiving executives of Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom, multi-sector private investment firm AFK Sistema, and Zarubezhneft, a wholly state-owned oil & gas company, on Friday.

Long is in Russia for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday.

The Deputy Prime Minister said joint ventures between the two countries have yielded positive outcomes, citing Vietsovpetro in Vietnam and Rusvietpetro in Russia, both established by Petrovietnam and Zarubezhneft. He called on the parties to expand oil & gas activities in both countries.

"Vietnam stands ready to facilitate Russian investment in sectors such as energy, oil & gas, information technology, digital technology, AI, pharmaceuticals, and biomedical sciences," the government’s news portal quoted Long as saying.

The Deputy PM stressed that Vietnam attaches great importance to and seeks to advance its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia. He called on Russian businesses to actively engage with their Vietnamese counterparts to realize agreements and bring investment projects and contracts into practice.

Long proposed that Russian firms transfer technology and train Vietnamese personnel to master production and technological processes.

In response, the Russian executives recalled the visit by Party chief To Lam to Russia in May, saying it has opened up new avenues and opportunities for cooperation that align with the interests of both sides.

They pledged to invest in technological innovation and production upgrades, bring cutting-edge technologies into joint projects, transfer know-how, and support Vietnam in training personnel.

Russian businesses said they and their Vietnamese partners will work to take greater control of production and diversify supply sources, products, and markets to cushion the impact and risks in global commodities, energy and service markets.

At their separate meetings with visiting Party chief To Lam in May, representatives of Zarubezhneft, AFK Sistema, and Cyberus said they are seeking investment opportunities in energy and high technology in Vietnam.

Kudryashov Sergei Ivanovich, general director of oil & gas giant Zarubezhneft, said that his company and Petrovietnam are advancing natural gas initiatives, including an LNG terminal project, with an aim to develop a modern liquefied gas supply chain for Vietnam and the broader region.

The two sides are also accelerating research and implementation of renewable energy projects, including offshore wind power and green hydrogen facilities, he added.

Ivanovich noted that Zarubezhneft is collaborating closely with Petrovietnam on oil & gas exploration projects both on Vietnam’s continental shelf and within Russia, and the joint projects are progressing efficiently.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, founder of AFK Sistema, stated that AFK Sistema views Vietnam as one of its top priority markets in the region and is ready to expand long-term investment cooperation in the Southeast Asian country.