Vietnam, Laos Seek to Boost Bilateral Trade
Representatives from more than 100 Vietnamese and Lao businesses gathered in Vientiane on August 31 to discuss ways to boost investment ties and two-way trade towards the target of US$1 billion by 2010 and US$2 billion by 2015, local media reported.
At the gathering, both Lao Minister of Industry and Trade Nam Vinhaket and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien affirmed the two governments’ support and investment incentives for businesses from the two neighbors.
The officials urged the enterprises to take full advantage of investment and trade encouragement agreements signed between the two countries, particularly policies on import taxes and goods transportation.
Representatives from Ho Chi Minh City laid out plans by the Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock and the Ho Chi Minh City Jewelry and Gemstone Corporation, to make investment to the neighboring country.
The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and HCM City People’s Committee of Vietnam, and Laos’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vientiane municipal government.
The two countries have just jointly organized the 29th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee to promote the two-side investment.
Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Laos reached US$240 million in 2006, up 30 per cent on-year. (VietnamNet, Vietnam Panorama)
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