The Russian Gastro Week began in Ha Noi on Thursday in a bid to boost agro-forestry-fishery partnership between Viet Nam and Russia.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Russian Ambassador to Viet Nam Konstantin Vnukov said the two-day fair is a culture-trade event to introduce products from the top 50 Russian firms in agricultural processing, food and beverage.

The fair will contribute to optimising the impact of the two countries’ free trade agreement for a US$10 billion goal in bilateral trade by 2020, the diplomat noted.

Nguyen Van Suu, vice chairman of the capital People’s Committee, said he expects more Russian products, such as wines, meat and chocolates, will be available in Ha Noi.

Statistics showed that Viet Nam-Russia trade hit $2.4 billion in the first seven months of 2017, up 18 per cent year- on- year.

The export value of Russian food and farm produce to Viet Nam amounted to $170 million between January and June, an annual increase of 9.3 per cent. – VNS