On January 11, 2022, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong had a meeting with Mr. Gennady Bezdetko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Vietnam.
Also attending the meeting, there were representatives from the International Cooperation Department, the Department of Legal Affairs, the Foreign Exchange Management Department, the Payment Department, the SBV Office and the Banking Supervision Agency. On the side of the Russian Embassy, there was Mr. Anton Golubev, First Secretary and representatives from Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank (VRB).
At the meeting, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong welcomed Mr. Gennady Bezdetko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Vietnam to have a working visit to the SBV. The two sides exchanged their views about the enhancement of payment in the domestic currencies based on the foreign trade contracts signed between the Russian Federation and Vietnam; the increase of the number of Vietnamese banks accepting MIR bank cards and vice versa; the pilot implementation of transactions of the VND/RUB at the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), etc.
SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong shared that there are a lot of potentials for promoting the commercial and investment relations between the Russian Federation and Vietnam. However, the current two-way trade volume between the two countries is still quite modest. She emphasized that the successful cooperation of the banking sector between the two sides would contribute to improving the commercial and investment relations between the two countries. The Governor also added that the Russian and Vietnamese enterprises need to raise their awareness of the convenience in using the domestic currencies for payment in the bilateral trade contracts. About the connectivity of the card payment systems between the two countries, the SBV had directed the relevant entities to take strong and urgent actions for MIR cards to be accepted for circulation in Vietnam, and there have been encouraging results. Therefore, the SBV Governor expressed her hope that the Russian side would accelerate the approval process for Vietnamese cards to be put into circulation in Russia, thereby facilitating the trading and travel activities by the people of the two countries.
SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong gives a token of souvenir to Russian Ambassador Gennady Bezdetko
For his part, Russian Ambassador Gennady Bezdetko affirmed that the cooperation with Vietnam in the financial and banking field is one of the critical pillars in the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. The Ambassador also added that this cooperation would create the momentum for the promotion of bilateral cooperation in other sectors. He also expressed his pleasure at the successes and results made by the Russia-Vietnam Banking Cooperation Working Group.
Le Hang