There remains ample room and potential for Ho Chi Minh City and Saint Petersburg City of Russia to increase trade turnover and expand investment cooperation in digital transformation, manufacturing and processing industry, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and education, heard a business forum in HCM City on December 5.

Addresssing the event, which was hosted by the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, Director of the HCM City Department of Foreign Affairs Tran Phuoc Anh said that the fruitful development of friendship and cooperative relations between Vietnam and Russia in recent times has created a favourable foundation for the HCM City - Petersburg friendship to constantly develop.

HCM City considers St. Petersburg one of 12 key localities that it will actively promote cooperation with in the coming time, he noted.

According to the official, there is a great prospect for the two sides to strengthen economic cooperation because HCM City is a potential market with a growing number of middle-class people, and an attractive investment destination with advantages in terms of geographical location, political stability, flexibility, and support policies for foreign businesses and investors.

HCM City has chosen green growth as its future development strategy, focusing on innovation, developing modern infrastructure, and improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy, thus promoting sustainable economic growth, Anh added.

Grigoriev Evgeny Dmitrievich, Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, highlighted the development of the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Russia, and relationship between localities of the two countries, including HCM City and St. Petersburg.

HCM City is home to over 20 Russian businesses, while there are more than 60 enterprises in St. Petersburg regularly doing business with Vietnamese companies, he said. However, Dmitrievich noted that the above-mentioned numbers do not fully reflect the potential for cooperation between the two sides.

Businesses of the Vietnamese and Russian cities have the demand to set up cooperation in information technology, health care, and education, he added.

The authorities of St. Petersburg encourages its businesses to promote trade and investment cooperation with foreign firms, including those from Vietnam, Dmitrievich said.

Goryshina Olga Anatolievna, vice head of the Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovations and Trade of St. Petersburg, said St. Petersburg is one of the cities with developed industry and vibrant commercial activities in Russia. Goods produced in St. Petersburg are currently exported to more than 100 countries around the world, including Vietnam.

Vietnam, and HCM City in particular, can enhance cooperation with the Russian city in the fields of shipbuilding and water treatment, she said.

Representatives from businesses of St. Petersburg said that HCM City is not only the largest economic hub in Vietnam but also an international trade gateway that connects dynamic economic regions in Asia.

VNA