Russia-Vietnam relations strengthen regional security The Russia-Vietnam relations have helped reinforced regional security, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a recent interview granted to a Moscow-based Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) correspondent on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the two nations’ diplomatic ties (1950-2015). Following are excerpts from the interview: VOV: Vietnam and Russia are celebrating 60 years of their diplomatic relations. What is your assessment of the development process and achievements? Mr Lavrov: Over the past 65 years, our relations have been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership based on traditional mutual affection and warm fraternity with the fundamental principles of international law that is the right to self-determination of the people without interference from outside and the right to be free and independent. The comprehensive strategic partners currently covers across a variety of fields spanning from politics, economics, trade and investment to science and technology, humanities, defense and military technology. We appreciate high-level political dialogues between the two sides.   Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  One and a half year witnessed reciprocal exchange visits by senior leaders-President Vladimir Putin, the Chairman of the Russian State Duma in 2014, and Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The agreements reached during the visits contributed to outlining medium and long-term prospects for the development of bilateral relations. Trade and economic cooperation has blossomed as for the first time we have surpassed the US$3 billion milestone in trade turnover and are striving to elevate the figure to US$10 billion in 2020. This goal is within reach on the back of major projects with bright prospects for cooperation between oil and gas firms such as Gasprom, Rosneft, Zarubeneft and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam). I am fully confident that our trade and economic relations will add fresh impetus to the conclusion of the negotiations towards the early signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) this year. Cooperation in hi-technology, education, humanities is growing considerably as a result of our sound relationship that has been maintained for years. In terms of international affairs, we shared our views on current international issues. We realize that the united efforts without the imposition of a country or a group of nations in collective struggle enable us to cope with threats as terrorism, organized crime, illegal migration, climate change and many other issues. We hail the balanced and responsible stance of Vietnam on the peaceful settlement of national crisis through negotiations. We also welcome Vietnam’s view on unaccepted application of unilateral sanctions or similar measures incommensurate with international law. VOV:Vietnam has increasingly important position in Southeast Asia and the Asia - Pacific region. Russia also holds an important position in Europe, especially the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). What is the significance of the strengthened relationship between the two nations in the region and the wider world? Mr Lavrov: It can be affirmed that our relations play an important role in consolidating stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region. We greatly value Vietnam’s role in broadening cooperation between Russia and ASEAN countries. The Southeast Asian nation has made practical contributions to the expansion of our partnership with ASEAN, including trade and economic cooperation. I would like to emphasize that the FTA agreement to be signed between Vietnam and the EEU is regarded as an important step in the comprehensive cooperation with the regional grouping in general.   On security, we have collaborated with Vietnam and other partners within the framework of the East Asia Summit in drafting codes of conduct in the Asia-Pacific region under whichprovisions can be widely applied based on security principles to ensure equal security forall Asia Pacific countries. The ASEAN Regional Forum has a crucial role to play in connecting the regional bloc with its partners, drawing the participation of dozens of partners from Europe, Russia and the US, including the non-member ASEAN as China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK). At a meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh last year, we devised specific orientations for our future cooperation. We have restored and maintained the regular operation of the ASEAN Center at MoscowState Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) to find proper solutions for dealing with threats of terrorism, crime and free navigation. VOV:There are largest number of Vietnamese nationals residing in Russia and they are also an important link in bringing our bilateral relations closer. What do you think about the Vietnamese Community in Russia? And what policies will Russia adopt in the near future to facilitate Vietnamese expats’ lives there? Mr Lavrov: Approximately 100,000 Vietnamese nationals are living in Russia, primarily running small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs). They are successful entrepreneurs. In addition, Russia now has 6,000 Vietnamese students and the figure is expected to increase every year. We appreciate the position and responsibility of Vietnamese citizens living in Russia as well as their contributions to forging and developing cooperation between the two countries. The Vietnamese community in Russia have always worked cohesively with Russian authorities, principally the Russian Federal Migration Serviceand the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have done all we can to help legal immigrants in Russia enjoy an easier life by learning Russian language and adapting themselves to Russian customs, culture and arts. Our migration agency and Vietnamese counterparts have maximized efforts to deal with illegal migration matters and we do hope that pending issues will be resolved soon. VOV:Thank you very much. VOV