HANOI: Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement on nuclear energy and several cooperation deals on Tuesday (Jan 14) during a visit to Hanoi by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
Vietnam aims to restart its nuclear energy programme having suspended it for years, as it needs to boost power generation to feed its growing industrial sector, a driver of its economy.
Vietnam maintains close relations with Moscow, Washington and Beijing.
Russia has long been its top provider of military equipment, and Russian oil and gas companies operate in Vietnam’s portion of the South China Sea, including in areas also claimed by China.
Rosatom, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, and Vietnam’s state-owned power utility EVN agreed to boost cooperation in the nuclear sector, according to a joint document listing their signed cooperation agreements.
The content of the deal is not public.
The United States has imposed dozens of sanctions on Rosatom’s subsidiaries and senior officials. The latest round of measures was announced last week by the US Department of State.
Rosatom has described US sanctions against its top officials as “unfounded and unlawful” and a “form of unfair competition from unfriendly states”.
Moscow also agreed to transfer a maritime research vessel to Vietnam under a deal signed by Vietnam’s defence ministry and Russia’s science ministry.
“The two sides will review, discuss and find solutions to the limitations in bilateral cooperation,” Vietnam’s government said on its website, in reference to the deals signed on Tuesday.
Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its military operation in Ukraine have hampered financial transactions between Hanoi and Moscow.
Also signed on Tuesday were deals on cooperating on the digital economy and in wireless communications.
