Forum highlights new driving forces in Vietnam-India trade

Apparel, pharmaceuticals, supporting industries, and renewable energy count among the new driving forces for growth in Vietnam-India trade ties, Bui Trung Thuong, Chief of the Vietnam Trade Office in India, told a recent business forum in the Indian city of Chandigarh.

At the event

Co-organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in India and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India for the northern region, the forum attracted more than 150 Indian enterprises, organisations, and associations.

Thuong took the occasion to call on Indian investors to invest in Vietnam, listing the country’s advantages in possessing a strategic location in the centre of Southeast Asia, open investment attraction policies, low company establishment costs, favourable infrastructure, stable GDP growth, a young population, and competitive labour costs.

Vietnam has so far signed 14 free trade agreements with over 50 countries and territories, he added.

Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau noted that Chandigarh was selected as the venue for promoting the two country’s cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, and education as it serves as the capital of the two neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana and is a popular tourist destination.

Indian participants admired Vietnam’s economic progress over the past year, considering the country an attractive destination for foreign investors, especially amid the ongoing wave of shifting investments.

They are confident about strengthened Vietnam - India ties in trade, investment, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

Enterprises from Pubjab and Haryana said they see opportunities for cooperation with Vietnamese counterparts in agricultural processing, IT, pharmaceuticals, garments-textiles, and auto spare parts.

India is among Vietnam’s top 10 largest trade partners, with bilateral trade exceeding 10 billion USD and expected to reach 15 billion USD shortly.

According to data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of December, India had about 300 valid projects in Vietnam worth some 900 million USD, ranking it 26th among countries and territories investing in the country./.

VNA