Putin meets with Vietnam's Communist party chief in Moscow
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin met with
Vietnam's Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh in the Kremlin on Thursday
to discuss boosting political and economic ties between the former Cold War
allies.
"I would like to note with satisfaction that there has been positive change in our
trade and economic relations over the past year," Putin said in comments
broadcast on Russian state television.
"As traditional friends, we are closely watching the success that the Russian
people have achieved under your leadership," the Interfax news agency quoted
Manh as saying at the meeting.
Manh is on a five-day visit to Russia. On Thursday, he laid a wreath at Lenin's
Tomb and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin. He is also
scheduled to travel to St. Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, where he once
studied at the city's forestry institute, Interfax said.
The Soviet Union was Vietnam's main benefactor and arms supplier during the
Cold War, when the two countries were ideologically close.
Relations with Moscow cooled after the Soviet Union's disintegration, but were
revived by Putin's visit to Hanoi last year.
Russian officials say trade turnover between the two countries reached US$330
million during the first half of this year, a 40 percent increase from the same
period last year. At the same time, Russia in May withdrew from a lease on a
U.S.-built naval base at Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay which it inherited from the
Soviet Union, citing financial problems.
Putin said Russia planned to hold a forum next year for Vietnamese citizens
who have studied in Russia, and said he hoped Manh would attend, Interfax
said.
Manh, who was appointed general secretary of the Communist Party last year,
completed a five-day visit to Japan over the weekend. From Russia, he will
travel to Belarus for a two-day visit, Vietnamese officials said.
The Associated Press - October 10, 2002.
|