HANOI, Feb. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov will pay an official visit to Vietnam from Feb. 16-17 in a move to bolster cooperative ties, a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

    During the two-day visit, Fradkov will hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Khai and meet with other Vietnamese top officials, discussing measures to step up friendly and cooperative relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries, including the ties in economy, trade, investment and anti-narcotics, spokesman Le Dung told a regular press briefing.

    "The two sides are actively negotiating on issues. If the negotiations run smoothly, some five agreements and protocols willbe signed during the visit," he said, noting that they are negotiating deals on drug prevention and intellectual property protection.

    Regarding the Vietnamese community in Russia, the spokesman said the common policy of the two sides is to create legal frameworks and favorable conditions for Vietnamese people to live and work pleasantly in the country.

    Since their diplomatic ties in 1950, Vietnam and Russia have seen improvement in bilateral relations in different spheres, including economy, investment, trade, education and culture. Russia has heavily invested in and assisted Vietnam in the fields of petroleum, construction, seafood and energy.

    The Vietnamese Trade Ministry estimated that the two-way trade surged 24 percent to 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2005. Vietnam's exports to Russia rose 18 percent to 255 million dollars last year.Enditem