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Vietnam´s Foreign Affairs

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Russia interested in cooperation with Vietnam - Medvedev
Nov 5, 2012 01:19 Moscow Time

Russia is interested in deepening military cooperation with Vietnam. This was announced by Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in an interview for Vietnamese media on the eve of his visit to that country on November 7.
"We are prepared to further this co-operation, increase its volume, of course, with due account for our international obligations in the relevant field," said the head of the government.

According to Medvedev, "it's useful, it strengthens the bonds of friendly relations, and promotes better understanding."

Voice of Russia, TASS
 
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Vietnam-Russia defence cooperation - A Vietnamese army delegation visited some Russian military units and training bases in October this year - Mounted Infantry Regiment 5 and Moscow Guard Regiment.
 
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Russia's PM Medvedev arrives in Vietnam
Nov 6, 2012 16:23 Moscow Time | The Voice if Russia

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During his stay, Mr. Medvedev is to meet Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, a source in Russia’s Cabinet has told the media.

The source confessed that the parties are set to sign several inter-government cooperation accords on space exploration, investment and a free trade zone between Vietnam and the Russia-led Customs Union.

Mr. Medvedev is also expected to negotiate the prospects for a Russian ship base at Vietnam’s Cam Ranh port.

Voice of Russia, Interfax
 
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Vietnam’s regional growth tied to renewed Russian relations
Global Times | 2012-9-24 20:40:04
By Carlyle A. Thayer

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Illustration: Sun Ying

On July 27, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang met with his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin in the resort city of Sochi. The two presidents issued a joint statement on raising their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

This development raises a number of questions for strategic analysts.

Why are Vietnam and Russia seeking a closer relationship at this time? Russia became Vietnam's first strategic partner in 2001. Their bilateral relations developed gradually and picked up pace with Russia's economic recovery. The elevation of relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partner is a natural development. But this factor alone is not a sufficient explanation.

Since 2001, Vietnam developed strategic partnerships with seven other countries, namely in order Japan, India, China, South Korea, Spain, the UK and Germany. Only one of these strategic partnerships has been raised to the next level - in 2009 Vietnam and China became comprehensive strategic partners.

Putin has been proactive in pushing forward Russia's return to Asia. A comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam serves this objective. Vietnam's negotiations with the US on a strategic partnership have stalled. Vietnam, which seeks to multilateralize and diversify its external relations, responded to the opportunity offered by Putin. US companies will now have to calculate whether they risk missing out on commercial opportunities in Vietnam.

And, what does each seek to gain from this relationship? There are four long-standing major components of the strategic partnership: oil and gas cooperation, energy cooperation for hydro and nuclear power, military equipment and technology, and trade and investment. These are accompanied by three other areas of importance: science and technology, education and training, as well as culture and tourism.

Vietnam and Russia formed Vietsovpetro, an oil and gas joint venture, in 1981. The company has been active on Vietnam's continental shelf and more recently in Russia as well. This has been Russia's most profitable enterprise and the joint venture has been extended to 2030.

Further, Vietnam and Russia agreed to facilitate the operations of other joint ventures such as Rusvietpetro, Gazpromviet and Vietgazprom to expand oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities to third countries.

Russia agreed to give Vietnam a soft loan of $10.5 billion to build its first nuclear power plant, Ninh Thuan 1.

Russia is Vietnam's largest provider of military weapons, equipment and technology. Vietnam and Russia will co-produce anti-ship cruise missiles and Vietnam is expected to order more Su-30 Sukhoi multirole jet fighters.

In August, Russia launched the first of six Kilo-class conventional submarines due for delivery to Vietnam over the next five years. Part of the sales package includes provision for Russia to build a maintenance and service facility at Cam Ranh Bay and training for Vietnamese submariners.

Vietnam will open its commercial facilities to all countries, but Russia will be granted special access as a strategic partner.

Trade and investment are both growing but the overall figures are modest. Bilateral trade reached $2 billion in 2011, although hopes are that this will grow to $5 billion in 2015 and $10 billion in 2020. Russia ranks the 23rd on the table of countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Are Vietnam and Russia seeking to balance a third party, China in Vietnam's case, and the US in Russia's case? Vietnam prefers a multipolar world as it seeks to develop relations with all the major powers. Improving relations with Russia is part of this larger strategy. Russia does not seek to balance against the US so much as reestablish itself as a major player in the Asia Pacific.

How will this new alignment impact Asia-Pacific geopolitics and the South China Sea in particular? Russia is a major supplier of military weaponry to both China and Vietnam. Russia has the option of withholding or cancelling these supplies at a time of crisis.

As for the South China Sea, Russian military assistance will improve Vietnam's capacity for defense and enable it to develop its own version of anti-access/area-denial in the Nansha Islands, also known as the Spratly Islands.

The joint statement issued by the two presidents upheld the status quo by reiterating that territorial disputes should be resolved by peaceful means without the use of force or the threat to use force based on international law including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Both also agreed to include regional security on the agenda of the East Asia Summit.

In sum, the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership is overwhelmingly focused on bilateral relations for mutual benefit. It will have a marginal impact on the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region.

It is important to note that Vietnam has promoted the concept of strategic partnership to signify a bilateral relationship that has breadth and depth.



The author is emeritus professor with The University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
 
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Some pictures from the visit 6-7/11/2012

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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (R) attend an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, 07 November 2012. Medvedev is on an official visit to Vietnam from 06 to 07 November 2012.
Source: EPA


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Lễ đón chính thức Thủ tướng LB Nga Mét-vê-đép đã được diễn ra trọng thể tại Phủ Chủ tịch (Ảnh Mạnh Hùng)


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Thủ tướng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng chào mừng Thủ tướng Đ.A. Mét-vê-đép và đoàn đại biểu Chính phủ Liên bang Nga sang thăm chính thức Việt Nam (Ảnh Mạnh Hùng)


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Thủ tướng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng hội đàm với Thủ tướng Liên bang Nga Mét-vê-đép (Ảnh Mạnh Hùng)


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Thủ tướng Chính phủ LB Nga Mét-vê-đép và đoàn đại biểu cấp cao Chính phủ LB Nga đặt vòng hoa tại Đài tưởng niệm các Anh hùng liệt sỹ (Ảnh Mạnh Hùng)
 
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Russia, Vietnam to Begin Free-Trade Talks Next Year
November 7, 2012, 7:19 a.m. ET - The Wallstreet Journal

By VU TRONG KHANH


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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (R) speak during their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, 07 November 2012. Medvedev is on an official visit to Vietnam from 06 to 07 November 2012.
Source: EPA


HANOI—Russia and Vietnam will begin negotiating a free trade agreement early next year, and will encourage more joint investment among the countries' energy companies, Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.

Bilateral trade is likely to reach $7 billion by 2015, Mr. Medvedev said after meeting with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung Wednesday, during a two-day visit to Hanoi. Vietnamese estimates put this year's trade at $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion, and last year's at $3 billion.

Russia and Vietnam upgraded relations to strategic from diplomatic in 2001. Russia exports mainly oil products and machinery to Vietnam, and imports mainly farm produce, seafood, clothing and electronics products.

Mr. Medvedev said he's satisfied with the two countries' cooperation on oil and gas, and wants companies such as PetroVietnam and Russia's JSC Zarubezhneft, Gazprom OAO OGZPY +1.94% and OAO Lukoil Holdings to increase joint investment.

Vietsovpetro, 49% owned by PetroVietnam and 51% by Zarubezhneft, has produced some 200 million metric tons of crude oil from Vietnam's offshore fields since 1981. Rusvietpetro, another joint venture with the same ownership, will produce three million tons of crude from Russia's Neneski Autonomous Region next year, PetroVietnam says, up from two million tons this year and 1.5 million tons in 2011.

PetroVietnam also has joint ventures with Gazprom operating in Vietnam and Russia. Lukoil last year received Vietnamese approval to buy a 50% stake in the Hanoi Trough-02 offshore block.

Messrs. Medvedev and Dung Wednesday witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to form a working group to speed large Russian investment projects in Vietnam, including the country's first nuclear-power plant.

"We will build the nuclear power plant with the highest safety standards and quality," Mr. Medvedev said.

Vietnam last year signed a deal to borrow $8 billion from Russia for the Ninh Thuan 1 plant, to be built by Russian utility and atomic-energy company Rosatom. Construction is slated to begin in 2014 and operations in 2020.

The two prime ministers agreed to increase cooperation in other areas as well, including tourism, technology and military.


"We have also agreed to better coordinate in international issues," Mr. Dung said.
 
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Russia to open air route to Cam Ranh
Updated : 11/13/2012 10:45:03 AM

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Cam Ranh International Airport, photo: BBC

(VOV) - There will be direct flights from Chelyabinsk Airport to Cam Ranh in Vietnam and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Interfax-Ural News Agency.

It quoted a press release from this airport as saying the monthly frequency of flights to popular tourism destinations in winter will increase by three times to Hurghada (20 flights) and by two times to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt (10 flights) –both in Egypt – as compared to last year.


Russia to open air route to Cam Ranh | VOV Online Newspaper
 
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It appears that we can see an increased number of Russians coming to Cam Ranh in the next years.
 
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Huge potential for boosting ties with Myanmar, Brunei
11/26/2012 11:11:54 AM | The Voice of Vietnam


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Vietnam´s State President Truong Tan Sang


(VOV) - State President Truong Tan Sang will pay official visits to Brunei from November 27-29 and Myanmar from November 29-December 1.

The aim of his visits, made at the invitation of Hassanal, the Sultan of Brunei, and Myanmar President Thein Sein, is to tighten bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation with these two nations.

Vietnam-Brunei: 20 years of development cooperation


Since Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam established their diplomatic ties in February 1992, both sides have spared no effort to boost multifaceted cooperation, especially in economics, trade, and investment.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Brunei hit US$204 million in 2011 and US$403 million in the first three quarters of 2012.

Brunei ranks 12 among 129 foreign investors in Vietnam with a total 129 projects worth US$4.9 billion while Vietnam currently has one project in Brunei worth US$650,000.

Regarding defence cooperation, Vietnam and Brunei signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defence cooperation in 2005 and established their defence attaché offices in 2010. They have regularly exchanged military delegations ever since.

Both countries have closely cooperated at multilateral forums such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Interpol, ASEANAPOL, the The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting On Transnational Crime (SOMTC).

There are now about 1,000 Vietnamese labourers working in Brunei. Both countries have signed various cooperation agreements in aviation, trade, and maritime and some MOUs on tourism, defence, and sports cooperations.

Brunei has recently agreed to grant Vietnamese students who wish to study there.

Vietnam-Myanmar: reliable partners in ASEAN


Vietnam and Myanmar set up their diplomatic ties in May 1975 and have regularly exchanged high-ranking delegations ever since.

In the ASEAN bloc, Vietnam-Myanmar relations have paid off well has enjoyed fruitful cooperation with two-way trade reaching US$167 million in 2011 and US$157.4 million in the first nine months of 2012. Vietnam’s total investment in Myanmar hit US$500 million in 2011.

Vietnam’s national flag carrier has opened air routes to Yangon and set up a representative office in the city. Other Vietnamese giant businesses including the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Viettel Telecom Group, and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group also have their representative offices in Myanmar.

In 2011, fairs were held in Vietnam and Myanmar to promote trade exchange between the two markets.

A joint statement signed by the two countries in 2010 identified 12 priority areas of cooperation, namely agriculture, industrial production, seafood, banking and finance, aviation, and telecommunications.

Following Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Myanmar in December 2011, both countries sign a MOU on cooperation in agriculture and rural development and another one on a BIDV’s non-refundable aid worth US$250,000 for Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture.

Sang’s upcoming visits to Brunei and Myanmar will reaffirm Vietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring multifaceted cooperation with the two countries.

http://english.vov.vn/Politics/Huge-potential-for-boosting-ties-with-Myanmar-Brunei/250826.vov
 
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Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Wikipedia

Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Sultan: Hassanal Bolkiah
Currency: Brunei dollar
Population: 405,938 (2011) World Bank
Government: Unitary state, Islamic State, Absolute monarchy
Official language: Malay Language
 
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Burma, also known as Myanmar, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. Wikipedia
Capital: Naypyidaw
Currency: Myanma kyat
Population: 48,336,763 (2011) World Bank
President: Thein Sein
Government: Presidential system, Unitary state, Republic, Constitutional republic
Official language: Burmese Language
 
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Vietnam president to sign 3 agreements during visit

Tuesday, November 27, 2012 | The Brunei Times
Fitri Shahminan | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


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Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah prays with Queen Mariam Haji Abdul Aziz during his 54th birthday celebration at Nurul Iman (State) Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan Photo: AP



THREE memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed throughout the three-day visit of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to Brunei, the republic's envoy to Brunei said yesterday.

His Excellency Nguyen Truong Giang, the ambassador of Vietnam to Brunei Darussalam, told The Brunei Times that two of the MoUs are likely to be signed at the Istana Nurul Iman (Royal Palace) when the Vietnamese leader arrives in the Sultanate today.

The MoUs will be signed between Petroleum Brunei and PetroVietnam and the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) and the Vietnam State Bank, he said.

The third MoU, which will be undertaken between the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Brunei Darussalam and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be signed on November 28 at the Empire Hotel & Country Club, during which he is also expected to attend a business forum, the ambassador added.

He said further details of the MoUs were not available as of press time.

The Vietnamese leader is also expected to visit the Brunei Shell Headquarters in the Belait District on November 28.

In the afternoon of the same day, President Sang will be attending a business forum which will see discussions on business and investment opportunities in Brunei and Vietnam. He is expected to leave the country on November 29.
 
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Nice reception in Brunei!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Her Majesty granted an audience to His Excellency Truong Tan Sang, The President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and spouse, Madam Mai Thi Hanh yesterday at the Istana Nurul Iman. Brunei and Vietnam signed the Agreement between the Authority Monetary of Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) and the State Bank of Vietnam and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the field of Oil and Gas between Petroleum Brunei and Petrovietnam.
(The Brunei Times)
 
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