Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Oct. 16 (VNA) -- Not only sharing spiritual and sentimental potentials, Viet Nam, Russia and Belarus also have great potential for cooperation in commerce-economy, science-technology and training, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan in an interview with the press in Ha Noi today, Oct. 16.

Mr. Vu Khoan was a member of the delegation accompanying Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh during his visits to Russia from Oct. 9-13 and Belarus from Oct. 14-16.

Following is full text of the interview:

"It is possible to say that the two visits ended in success, which is manifested in many fields.

"First and foremost, Russia and Belarus are those countries which have traditional friendly relations with Viet Nam. Through the two official visits, the said tradition was sentimentally shown and manifested by all leaders, parties and people from all walks of life in Russia and Belarus.

"Although the situation has changed, all Russian and Belorussian people of any parties or any political opinions have still considered the Vietnamese as their comrades and brothers. This is one of details of the visits, but it partly manifested the great potentials of sentiments and spirit of the two countries towards Viet Nam.

"Second, besides traditional friendship, both Russia and Belarus have highly appreciated Viet Nam's position and its renewal achievements. They expressed their special appreciation of Viet Nam's experiences in economic renovation while maintaining political and social stability.

"The two countries also highly appreciated Viet Nam's position in Southeast Asia and the Asian-Pacific region, considering the acceleration of boosting relationship with Viet Nam as a priority direction in their foreign policy.

"Third, both Russia and Belarus have paid due attention to boosting cooperative ties in economic development-commerce and science-technology with Viet Nam. As a result, two-way trade between Viet Nam and Russia increased 40-50 percent to 700-800 million USD annually in the past two years while that between Viet Nam and Belarus have seen considerable growth.

"During the two visits, the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Viet Nam did not discussed generally, but concrete measures to increase two-way trade value, expand production in joint venture enterprises, bolster cooperation in economic, scientific and technological domains, and enhance assistance in personnel training for Viet Nam.

"During the two visits, Viet Nam achieved concrete agreements. For instance, Russia agreed to provide a credit loan of 100 million USD to build two power plants in Viet Nam while Belarus agreed to cooperate with Viet Nam in manufacturing tractors and heavy lorries for mining industry.

"In all aspects, the two visits brought about very encouraging results.

"Finally, it's very important politically that our stance and that of Russia as well as of Belarus regarding international issues are similar or close in many points. For instance, three countries want to build an equitable and democratic world order politically and economically - a world in which fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and the principle of non-interference into other countries' internal affairs are respected.

"These are the four achievements we have attained from the two visits, in our opinion, as they will create a new momentum for our country's relations with Russia (relations with a strategic partner) and with Belarus (relations of friendship and mutual trust), helping the three countries enter the new millennium."

Regarding the Vietnamese community in Moscow, Deputy PM Vu Khoan said:

"This is a major concern of our Party and Government, and it should be discussed at and settled by the expert level. However, in order to show the concern for our fellow countrymen living in Russia, the Party General Secretary mentioned this issue at all working sessions with the Russian hosts, including his working session with Moscow Mayor Yu. Luscov.

"The Russian side highly values the Vietnamese community's industriousness and affirms that there has been no discrimination against the Vietnamese nationals in Moscow. The Russian government's policy and treatment to the Vietnamese and other foreign communities in Moscow are the same. The Vietnamese are equal to the Chinese, Turkish or the Azerbijan communities, the Russian officials affirmed. However, they pointed to two issues of primary concern.

"First, the Vietnamese community must respect Russia's laws and and rules, such as regulations on residential or business registration. All those regulations must be strictly observed.

"Second, the intellectual property regulations and copyright must be observed not only by the Vietnamese people but also the Russian people. The act has been clearly covered by the media. The Russian Government has been tightening its management over the copyright protection, which is similar to "the fight against fake and immitated goods" in Viet Nam.

"The Russian side said that their government itself was under the pressure of the copyright issue during the course of negotiating for assession to the World Trade Organisation. The intellectual property and copyright protection issue is one of conditions put forth by foreign partners to Russia, including the European Union.

"In conclusion, for the stable and long-term business operation and residency of the Vietnamese community in Moscow, the Vietnamese people and the local administration must carry out measures to tighten order. Both sides should exert continued efforts to solve outstanding issues. In addition, relevant agencies of Viet Nam should enhance their efforts to make the Vietnamese community in Moscow to understand and correctly practise laws."--