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Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon,

Let me fulfil a pleasant and honorary mission – to present Russian honours and medals to employees of one of the leading Vietnamese enterprises, the Russian-Vietnamese joint venture Vietsovpetro.

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Today there is every reason to say that Vietsovpetro is not only a large production complex but also the pivot of economic cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. Its successful work sets a good example for other areas of our cooperation.

The enterprise is one of the five most efficient oil companies in the world. I speak not of the level of production but of the spending and income ratio. This year Vietsovpetro will pass the point of 100 million barrels extracted. The enterprise accounts for nearly 20% of Vietnam’s hard currency receipts and contributes nearly half a billion dollars to the Russian budget.

The success of the enterprise is a great personal achievement for those present. It is the friendly mutual understanding and cooperation of Russian and Vietnamese specialists that to a considerable extent guaranteed the success of Vietnam’s oil and gas industry. I think that the enterprise was absolutely right when it raised the issue of expanding its work in Vietnam. I would like to express gratitude to the Vietnamese Government for the decision made and the agreement signed today on expanding the area of activity and the zone of responsibility of the joint venture.

I think that the work of such Russian and Vietnamese firms as Petrovietnam and Zarubezhneft is certain to lay a firm foundation for promoting the interests of Russia and Vietnam in Asia and the Pacific. A new oil-refining project is being actively discussed. A new oil refinery is to have a production capacity of 6.5 million tonnes with a processing rate of up to 90%. If this happens, Vietnam will get a closed cycle industry: from prospecting and extraction to processing and sale of not only crude and processed products but also oil products.

We firmly believe that in the new century your enterprise will grow and serve as a symbol of friendship between the people of the Russian Federation and the Vietnamese people. From the bottom of my heart I wish the management of the company every success.