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This is in keeping with the global trend towards phasing out the use of widely discredited currencies in international trade and investment. A major role in ensuring reliable financial settlements is played by the Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank, whose opening ceremony I attended back in 2006. We hope that the Bank will continue its work, contributing actively to the strengthening of economic collaboration between our states.
The energy sector remains a strategically important area of bilateral cooperation. The Vietsovpetro joint venture, which has been exploring deposits on Vietnam's continental shelf for more than four decades, has proved highly efficient. The volume of oil it has produced over the years has exceeded 250 million tonnes. Rusvietpetro, a joint venture company established in 2008, is successfully operating in Russia's Nenets Autonomous Area. It has already extracted over 35 million tonnes of oil in the harsh conditions of the Far North. Gazprom, in its turn, is engaged in gas extraction in Vietnam, while another major Russian company, NOVATEK, intends to implement LNG projects on the Vietnamese territory.
An initiative is being considered to create a Centre of Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam with Rosatom's assistance. In this regard, I would like to note that the Russian state corporation is essentially ready to help Vietnamese partners develop their national nuclear power industry, including in terms of building its human capacity.
Our country has traditionally contributed a great deal to the development of Vietnam's hydropower potential. For example, RusHydro is interested in joining the project to reconstruct and increase the capacity of hydropower facilities on Vietnam’s rivers.
The Gaz Thanh Dat joint venture to assemble Russian GAZ brand automobiles is expanding its operations in Da Nang.
We expect that Vietnamese investors will, in turn, more actively use the ample opportunities offered by the Russian market. The Vietnamese company TH Group, which is constructing milk processing plants in the Moscow and Kaluga regions and in the Primorye Territory, is one example.
And I certainly cannot but mention the long-standing traditions of bilateral cooperation in education. Over the past decades, tens of thousands of Vietnamese specialists in various fields have received training or upgraded their skills in our country, and several thousand have obtained academic degrees. We intend to further prioritize partnership in this area. This includes further offering education opportunities at Russian universities to Vietnamese citizens at the expense of the federal budget. We will do our best to promote student exchanges, launch joint academic projects and programmes. The Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technology Centre, which has been engaged in applied and fundamental research for many years, provides a vivid example of such positive cooperation between our countries.
We will definitely continue to develop humanitarian contacts. I know that many Vietnamese understand and love Russian music, literature and cinema. And Russian people show genuine interest in original Vietnamese art. The Days of Vietnamese Culture in Russia, to be held early next month, will provide a better glimpse.
Tourism is a sure way to promote mutual understanding between our peoples. Vietnam has long become a popular holiday destination for Russians, and Vietnamese citizens have always been attracted by our country's tourist sights. An increase in the number of direct flights would help intensify mutual tourist flows.
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