Moscow (VNA) – A meeting was held in Moscow onMarch 13 to enhance ties between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ofVietnam and Russia.

Opening the meeting, Vice President of the AllRussia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” Nonna Kagramanian said the eventwas motivated by Russian entrepreneurs’ interest in partnerships with Vietnam.It was part of the Vietnam Year in Russia 2019 – a good time for both sides tointensify business links, launch SME projects and develop joint production tocreate added value chains.

She noted that an important goal of herorganisation is to expand cooperation with businesspersons in Southeast Asia,with Vietnam a key target.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manhexpressed his belief that cooperation between the two SME communities will helpachieve the bilateral trade target of 10 billion USD in 2020.

He welcomed partnerships between SMEs andefforts to create new development drivers this year, affirming thatbusiness-to-business meetings will be held more frequently in the twocountries.

At the event, Commercial Counsellor of theVietnamese Embassy in Russia Duong Hoang Minh gave an overview of Vietnam’seconomy and bilateral economic connections.

Russia now ranks 24th among Vietnam’s tradepartners with bilateral trade approximating 6 billion USD, impressive but belowthe two sides potential.

He noted although boosting partnerships betweenVietnamese and Russian SMEs is a new and promising move, they still lackinformation about each other. Therefore, the bridging role of representativeeconomic and commercial offices and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry is more necessary than ever.

Representatives of about 40 Vietnamese andRussian firms introduced their strengths and demand to partners at the event.Some fields attracting great attention included technology transfer,cooperation in manpower training, developing a digital economy and keeping upwith the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Founded in 2001, “Delovaya Rossiya” gathers morethan 3,000 companies in various areas in Russia. Its members’ total annualrevenue is estimated at 2.8 trillion rubles (more than 42.8 billion USD).-VNA