(VOVworld) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Hanoi on Wednesday during the Russian Prime Minister’s official visit to Vietnam. During their talks, both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral political ties by exchanging delegations, and encouraging more cooperation between both Parties, National Assemblies, social organizations and regions. The two Prime Ministers discussed ways of implementing strategic cooperation agreements, and increasing trade exchanges to raise two way trade turnover to 7 billion USD by 2015. They underlined the importance of Vietnam and the Customs Alliance beginning negotiations on a free trade agreement in the first quarter of next year and ending the negotiations within 2 years. Both agreed to boost cooperation in security, national defence, science and technology, education, training, and culture. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stressed that Vietnam is particularly pleased about cooperating with Russia on energy, especially in oil and gas. Dung proposed that Russia facilitates oil and gas companies from both countries to set up joint ventures stating that the Vietnamese government will create the best possible conditions for Russian companies to operate oil and gas projects in Vietnam. He also proposed that Russia helps Vietnamese companies to set up joint ventures in manufacturing garments and textiles, wooden products, seafood and electronics in the Far East and major cities in Russia.

Prime Minister Medvedev reiterated that the Russian government and Russian oil and gas companies would continue to work with Vietnam and facilitate joint ventures to expand cooperation in Russia. Medvedev said the Russian government encourages Vietnamese enterprises to invest in the Far East and other areas. After their talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the use of airspace for peaceful purposes and other cooperative agreements on energy and trade.

In a meeting with reporters after their talks, the two Prime Ministers highlighted their determination to develop the Vietnamese Russian strategic partnership. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said: "We highly appreciated the efforts ministries and agencies from both countries have made to implement strategic agreements on oil and gas, nuclear power and military technologies. The Vietnamese and Russian governments will create the best possible conditions for ministries, sectors and businesses from both countries to explore for oil and gas in both countries, build the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant and raise military cooperation to a new level".