(VOVworld) - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong left Hanoi on Saturday for official visits to Russia and Belarus from November 23-28. He is accompanied by Ngo Van Du, Politburo member, Party Secretary and head of the Commission for Inspection; Tran Quoc Vuong, Party Secretary and head of the Party Office; Hoang Trung Hai, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Vietnam-Russia Cooperation Sub-committee; and Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Vietnam and Russia have seen rapid development of bilateral relations in recent years, with their comprehensive strategic partnership growing deeply and effectively in a number of fields.  Two-way trade reached almost 4 billion USD in 2013, and exceeded 1.8 billion USD during the first eight months of this year. Vietnam and Belarus enjoy a sound and time-honored friendship and cooperation, with political ties growing continuously. Two-way trade reached 152 million USD in 2013, with Vietnamese imports totaling 138 million USD. The two countries see prospects for cooperation on labor exports. As many as 600 Vietnamese nationals are living in Belarus.