Foreign Economic Cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in the Context of Regional Integration

The development of foreign economic cooperation with friendly countries is one of the key priorities of Russia’s economic and foreign policy. This study aims to determine the specific characteristics and promising directions for Russian-Vietnamese foreign economic cooperation in the context of regional integration. The research relies on foreign trade statistics provided by the Federal Customs Service of Russia and analytical data from the international trade platform Trade Map. Additionally, departmental reports and analytical materials concerning Russian-Vietnamese relations for the period from 2003 to 2021 are used. The study employs methods of comparison, interpretation, and identification of functional links. Specifically, the research follows a step-by-step algorithm comprising five stages: data collection and structuring, analysis of product groups, identification of critical Russian exporting regions, evaluation of regional export specifics, and developing recommendations for further cooperation. The analysis shows that foreign trade turnover between Russia and Vietnam increased fourteenfold from 2003 to 2021, despite Russia’s share in Vietnamese imports decreasing by 1.2%. Meanwhile, imports from Vietnam to Russia rose forty-ninefold. It was found that Russia’s exports to Vietnam consist primarily of low-processed goods, raw materials, and resources. Promising directions were identified based on Trade Map data for 2019–2021, focusing on increasing non-resource exports. Future research will assess the potential for cooperation between Russian and Vietnamese regions in the high-tech sector.