- Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (2nd R) hold hands with Philippine's President Benigno Aquino (L), Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (2nd L), Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (C) and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung during the ASEAN-Russia Summit on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi Oct 30, 2010. (GETTY IMAGES / REUTERS/Kham )
October 30, 2010 HANOI (KATAKAMI / THE STRAITS TIMES) --- PRESIDENT Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Vietnam on Saturday for a visit that will see Russia sign a multi-billion-euro nuclear power plant deal with the former Soviet-era Communist ally.
Mr Medvedev said he was expecting 'serious results' from the trip, which is aimed at establishing wider energy ties.
Referring to close links between the Soviet Union and Vietnam in the 1980s, Mr Medvedev said he hoped their shared history would provide a firm foundation for a tight, modern-day economic and political partnership.
'We were together with the heroic Vietnamese people during the years of its fight for independence and reunification, during the complicated period of reviving its national economy,' he wrote in an article for the Vietnamese newspaper Nhan Dan, the text of which was released by the Kremlin.
The president is scheduled to meet top Vietnamese officials on Sunday and agree on the construction of Vietnam's first nuclear power plant.
An official with Russian state nuclear conglomerate Rosatom told AFP the construction of the two-unit plant is estimated at over 4.0 billion euros (S$7.2 billion). --
AFP
