Question: Prime Minister, on behalf of the group of Vietnamese journalists who have been accredited in Russia, we would like to express our appreciation to you for setting aside time for this interview. With your permission, let's begin our talk.

Dmitry Medvedev: Very well, let’s begin.

Question: Great. (via an interpreter from here on). Prime Minister, could you share with us the major topics of discussion for your upcoming visit to Vietnam?

Dmitry Medvedev: With pleasure. For my own part, I would like to say that I am looking forward to my visit to Vietnam to strengthen the strategic character of our partnership and our cordial and friendly ties that are many decades old. Speaking about the major areas of discussion as Prime Minister, economic issues are, of course, at the top of my agenda. We are good partners. Our economic ties are making sound headway, but I think it would be wrong to say that everything is absolutely the way we want it to be. Why? Because if you look at the trade between Russia and Vietnam…It is growing and we have set the target of $7 billion by 2015. But is this a lot? Of course, it is better than what we have today, but we are not talking about a large sum. Frankly, we have to admit that the volume of Vietnam’s trade and economic cooperation with China, Japan and the United States is greater, far greater. But we have a special, friendly and sound relationship, and it should have a fundamentally different economic character. Vietnam accounts for 0.5% of Russian foreign trade, which is very little, so my task is to do all that I can to promote our trade and economic ties. That’s my first point.

The second issue is about the investment aspect of cooperation. I think that we have some good results here. Speaking about flagships in energy cooperation, for example, we have Vietsovpetro, which is an important business structure that has been our link for years. And I could cite other examples. But we have to look at cooperation in other areas, such as high technology, machine-building, space technology, communications and humanitarian cooperation.

And, of course, it is important that we discuss all of the issues concerning the future configuration of Russian-Vietnamese cooperation in the context of the Asia-Pacific Region's overall development. We are serious, weighty players and we are not indifferent to how the Asia-Pacific Region will develop in the future. This has to do with a range of issues that I would like to discuss. There are other issues that concern the international situation and our regional projects. In short, we will try to discuss everything.

Question: What, in your opinion, should Vietnam and Russia do to achieve the target that has been set to bring bilateral trade to $7 billion by 2015? How will these issues be discussed with the Vietnamese leadership?

Dmitry Medvedev: I have partly answered this question already. We must work to achieve the targets that we have set, but they are not the limit. Seven billion by 2015 is not the ultimate goal. We should set more ambitious tasks for ourselves. As for the means of achieving this goal, they consist precisely of identifying new areas of cooperation and also building on what we have achieved in previous decades. I am referring to traditional priority spheres – such as energy and machine-building. Naturally, we have other important spheres of cooperation, such as military and technical cooperation, which accounts for a great part of our overall mutual trade. Hopefully, this will help our military and industrial complex to develop, and it will also help Vietnam to strengthen its defence capabilities.

Question: What are you planning to do specifically? What will be the context of your talks with the Vietnamese leadership?

Dmitry Medvedev: Yes, I will, of course, discuss this during my meetings with the Vietnamese leaders. We will work to move forward with all major projects that are not moving as quickly as we would like. But energy is clearly the key point of our cooperation. In recent years, we have managed to resolve issues concerning our future cooperation, for example, in energy. Speaking about flagships, Vietsovpetro's term has been extended until 2030. We have approved the principles according to which the company will continue to grow, and we have also set some ambitious goals, and this is good. And, of course, the products of this joint venture will generate income for both Vietnam and Russia.

But because we see Vietnam as a strategic partner, we are eyeing other projects that, as you know, have appeared in recent years. I should mention the Gazpromviet gas project – an interesting project involving Russian energy assets, into which we are bringing our Vietnamese partner's potential. We are discussing a Russian field's joint development in the Yamal-Nenets Area. This is a federal strategic field. We have made an exception for Vietnam thanks to the special character of our ties and the prospects that we see in terms of developing cooperation with the country.

Question: How do you assess the forthcoming start of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan? What are the prospects for this project?

Dmitry Medvedev: I think that introducing a new format of cooperation is a good idea overall, because we have unquestionably established a Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan integration union. This helps us to coordinate our trade and economic policies. It is good for Vietnam because it expands the market for Vietnamese goods and other products that we receive. It is a common market, and naturally this is better than having just a single market even when you are talking about a country as large as Russia. So, in that sense, it multiplies our economic potential on both sides. But there are issues that must be covered because we always need agreements on complex trade issues. Vietnam is also a member of other free enterprise integration structures, and we should see how our Customs Union fits in with its other opportunities.

And perhaps the last thing that I would like to say on this issue is that all of these questions should be considered within the context of Asia-Pacific Region cooperation. So, work has begun, and it must continue. It is a challenge and we must assess all of the factors that influence the development of these ties. On the whole, the relations are positive.

Question: Our heads of state have recently agreed to further strengthen our cooperation in the oil-and-gas and military and technical spheres. Prime Minister, what steps do our countries' cabinets plan to take to implement these agreements?

Dmitry Medvedev: We discussed new areas of cooperation in recent years. This took place during my visit to Vietnam in 2010, during my most recent visit this year, and during the Vietnamese delegation and President's visit to Russia. We believe that we should move in these new directions. One of them I mentioned when I said that we have a joint gas project. It is promising and interesting and, I repeat, it is a project between partners and friends, if you like.

Of course, there are other major projects on the table, including cooperation on nuclear energy, and traditional cooperation in the oil sector. I think that it is important for us to think about moving to high-tech forms of cooperation and new forms of delivering energy. By high-tech forms of cooperation, I am referring to the introduction of new technologies in the energy sector. Both Russia and Vietnam are interested in this issue because the world is changing and new technologies are becoming available. It is important today not only to deliver raw products, unprocessed products – such as oil or gas – but also to process them, as this creates value and additional revenue. And I think that if we concentrate on this issue, the results will be even more tangible.

Speaking about the future, I would like to mention the prospect for liquefied natural gas supplies, which I think our Vietnamese friends could be interested in. They would, of course, be shipped from enterprises already built in Eastern Siberia and the Far East. So, this is another prospective topic of discussion. As regards military and technical cooperation, to which you have referred, we have made a substantial step forward in recent years. I remember when this cooperation was “de-mothballed,” so to speak, when a Vietnamese delegation came here three years ago. As the then-President, I met the Defence Minister and a number of other officials. As a result, I think that the level of military and technical cooperation has improved noticeably. We revived, as it were, the spirit of cooperation that informed our relations some time ago, when these were the relations between the Soviet Union and Vietnam – the spirit of partnership. We are prepared to continue cooperation and to increase the scale of cooperation, while being mindful, of course, of our international obligations in this sphere. Similarly, we think that we should continue training Vietnamese specialists, including army officers, if Vietnam has the will and the desire for us to do so. We think that it is useful, it strengthens our good ties, and it helps us to facilitate better understanding, such as in situations arising from the use of military equipment.

Question: How does Russia assess Vietnam’s place and role in ASEAN and in the Asia-Pacific Region as a whole considering Moscow’s policy of forging closer ties with the region and building a new balance between the East and the West – between Russia and the EU, on the one hand, and between Russia and ASEAN and APEC, on the other hand?

Dmitry Medvedev: We think highly of Vietnam's role and significance in the Asia-Pacific Region and in the context of our ties with ASEAN because Vietnam is a rapidly developing country with a sound economic and social potential. And Vietnam is an old friend. In that sense, we feel comfortable working with Vietnam, and this is also important for our future relations.

Indeed, since Russia is a country on the one side situated in Europe, and on the other side located in Asia and in the Asia-Pacific Region, this dictates the vector of our cooperation. We will, of course, do everything to bolster our positions in the Asia-Pacific Region and to promote our ties with states that are members of various integration groups within the region, including ASEAN and others. In this context, we will, of course, coordinate our efforts with Vietnam to implement, if we can, a number of joint projects and, in some cases, to uphold certain positions proceeding from shared views on the region's development. So, we will work on this by all means.      

Question: At the 2012 APEC summit, the Russian leadership sent a clear signal to the world that Russia is ready to be an economic and educational link between the East and the West, with all of the advantages and the high degree of responsibility that this entails. What steps will Russia take to overcome the growing challenges and difficulties in the Asia-Pacific Region?

Dmitry Medvedev: It’s a follow-up question to the previous one. We believe in the intrinsic value of Russia’s development as part of the region. We have programmes to develop the Far Eastern regions and Eastern Siberia. These programmes are tied in with the region's development. But it would not be entirely correct to think that the development of the region is without problems. There are a number of distortions. There are problems, such as poverty, and environmental and global challenges, including financial issues. Of course, we are facing all of these issues, while working in the region as a regional state. So, in proclaiming our course for doing everything that we can to promote our ties with the countries in the region, we will take part in discussing these acute development issues. What are these issues? First, we must harmonise the rules of trade in the Asia Pacific Region because each of us has his own ideas about trade. And when we meet at ASEAN forums, or ASEM or other forums, we do discuss trade cooperation. But we do not always speak the same economic language, so uniformity of trade rules for our region is important. This is one challenge.

Another challenge that faces the entire planet, but is particularly relevant to our densely populated Asia-Pacific Region, is of a special kind. It is food security. Food prices are rising, and we have to invest in new food production technologies and make food available to the absolute majority of the people in our region, to provide a balanced food basket, so that people can buy basic food products. So, we are ready to discuss this topic. All the more so as Russia has an immense agricultural potential. We are a large country and we are aware of our capabilities and we offer our closest friends and partners cooperation in this sphere. This could be the second area of cooperation.

The third area in which we see a special role for Russia, which is also vital for the region because it is an economic pole in the current economic legal order is building up the right communications and logistics for our relations. Russia has a special mission as a country that effectively unites two continents and many processes and trade routes would be more rational if they passed through our territory. This would cut costs, enable our enterprises to earn extra money, and thus replenish the budgets of our countries. So, I see special significance for Russia in the context of cooperation in the region. These are just three examples, but, of course, there are many more of them.

Question: Mr Medvedev, this is going to be your second visit to Vietnam. What are your feelings as you take this trip? Vietnam waits for you not only as the Prime Minister of a friendly state, but also as a representative of a fraternal people.

Dmitry Medvedev: I have already said that I will go with a good mood and with kind feelings towards the people of Vietnam. This will be, strictly speaking, my second visit as the head of the Russian delegation. I went as President, and now I will go as Prime Minister. But, for me, this will be my third visit to Vietnam, because I visited it as a member of a delegation a little over ten years ago. I will be able to see how Vietnam is developing and becoming more beautiful, how life in Vietnam is changing, what changes have occurred in the last ten years, and naturally I will go with kind feelings and in a positive mood. I am sure that this visit will also benefit our relations. As I said, every visit always has an emotional aspect and in that sense the visit generates positive emotions in me and my colleagues.

Question: Prime Minister, what memories do you have of your meeting with Soviet and Russian higher educational institution graduates during your last visit?

Dmitry Medvedev: I’ll be completely frank – it was perhaps one of the warmest meetings that I attended as the President or as an official. The emotional charge, the friendly atmosphere, the spirit of camaraderie and history, the emotional charge and the general atmosphere in the room were exceptional. To be frank, I don’t think that I’ve ever experienced anything like it before. This means only one thing – we have a considerable capital that we must cherish, and this is the emotional component of the kind, fraternal feelings linking our two states, our two peoples, the Russian people and the Vietnamese people. So, it is our task, the task of politicians, the task of the countries' leaders to cherish this capital.

Question: Thank you for the very substantive talk. We wish you good health, happiness, and success in promoting the development and prosperity of the great Russia, a friend of Vietnam.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you very much. And we’ll meet again soon.