At the event (Photo: VNA) - 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.
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./.