Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to leave for Kazakhstan on Thursday to attend the signing ceremony for the Vietnam – EEU Free Trade Agreement, according to Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper. One such trade pact is the FTA between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, which is slated for signing by the end of this month.

The EEU consists of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia.

Vietnamese enterprises still face some hurdles in terms of procedures when exporting their products to Russia, but these obstacles will be cleared once Vietnam signs free trade agreements of which Russia is a member, according to the state president.

State President Truong Tan Sang said during a meet in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday that Vietnamese businesses should all contribute to boosting trade ties with Russia so that the bilateral trade value in 2020 can be double the target set by the two governments

He added that Vietnam and Russia have targeted a bilateral trade value of US$10 billion in 2020, but enterprises should do even more to send the number to $20 billion.

Local businesses should try to grab every chance to invest in the Russian market, the president said. The government has exerted efforts to facilitate penetration into the Russian market for Vietnamese businesses.

Last year Vietnam and Russia posted $2.6 billion in bilateral trade revenue. Russia, meanwhile, is the third largest country for Vietnam’s outbound investment.

In 2008 Vietnamese businesses only invested $100 million in Russia, but the figure is expected to rise to $2.5 billion this year with 19 projects, according to the Vietnam News Agency, which cited the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.

President Sang urged that after the trade pact is signed, Vietnamese businesses should try to raise the value of Vietnam’s exports to Russia to $20 billion in 2020.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam is also expected to sign a trade pact with the Eurasian Customs Union, which Russia is also a member of, next month. The ministry said that the FTA between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia will be closed following eight negotiation rounds.

The trade pact will help boost the export of Vietnamese agricultural produce, seafood, textile and garments, and footwear to the three markets, according to the ministry.It will also create more conditions to boost bilateral ties between Vietnam and the Eurasian Customs Union.