The 5th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF-2019) under the theme “Far East - Development Skies” was attended by Heads of Government and Prime Ministers of India, Japan, Malaysia and Mongolia, Deputy Prime Ministers of Vietnam, China, South Korea, North Korea and Luxemburg and over 6500 international delegates.

The EEF-2019 agenda was divided into four main themes: “New solutions to accelerate economic growth”; “Creating conditions for enterprises”; “Far East and Asia Pacific: developing cooperation opportunities” and “New solutions to improve the quality of life”.

The main event among nearly 50 activities of the Forum was the plenary session on 5th September with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed issues to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and economic development of the Russian Far East. There, President Putin delivered a speech focusing on issues of accelerating the socio-economic development of the Far East, inviting foreign investors to be more active in investing in joint projects with Russian businesses, and presented Russia's point of view on deepening regional economic integration, addressing security and stability issues in the Asia-Pacific region and committing to create “the best conditions” for investors to turn the Far East region into one of the world's leading economic centers. 

Within the framework of the Forum, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dzung met with Deputy Prime Minister M. Akimov, co-chair of the Russian Sub-Committee in the Intergovernmental Committee on Vietnam-Russia economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation. The two sides highly appreciated the ministries’ and branches’ diverse, meaningful and positive activities within the framework of the Vietnam-Russia Cross Year 2019-2020, contributing to promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership and strengthening understanding between the two peoples.

The two Deputy Prime Ministers exchanged ideas on the implementation of agreements reached under the visits of senior leaders of the two countries as well as important bilateral cooperation programs and projects. The two sides assessed that ongoing cooperation in the fields were taking place positively, and said that oil and gas cooperation had a strategic significance for Vietnam-Russia relations. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dzung affirmed that Vietnam supported Russian oil and gas enterprises to expand oil and gas exploration and production in the continental shelf of Vietnam in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the 1982 Law of the Sea and proposed that the Russian Government create conditions for Vietnamese joint ventures to participate in new potential fields in Russian territory in order to improve the efficiency of current projects. The two Deputy Prime Ministers agreed to promote the removal of emerging difficulties, promote cooperation in traditional areas, concurrently expand cooperation in new and potential areas such as building a digital economy and e-government, infrastructure development, expansion of aviation cooperation... to create qualitative shifts in bilateral relations. The two sides agreed to hold the 22nd meeting of Vietnam - Russia Intergovernmental Committee in early October 2019 in Vietnam. 
Within the framework of the Forum, Petrovietnam Vice President Nguyen Quoc Thap met and exchanged views with Russian and international partners about cooperation opportunities with Petrovietnam in the fields of oil and gas industry.