Recently, at the head office of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Hanoi, Dr Doan Duy Khuong, VCCI Vice President, had a meeting with Mr Luis Porto, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the economic and investment situation, especially the desire of VCCI to send a business delegation accompanying Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister to visit several South American countries, including Uruguay, in the coming time. On this occasion, the Government, the Embassy of Uruguay in Vietnam and VCCI will hold the Vietnam-Uruguay Business Forum.
VCCI Vice President Doan Duy Khuong shared some basic information about the economic situation in Vietnam, the support activity of VCCI for the business community, and promised to cooperate with Uruguay to hold the forum smoothly.
Vietnam and Uruguay established formal diplomatic relations on August 11th 1993. The friendship between the two countries has developed finely since then. However, the economic and trade relationship has not been strongly boosted. No agreements have been signed and the number of exchange visits between the two sides is limited. In recent years, businesses of the two countries have started to initiate business contacts.
In November 2007, President Tabare Vazquez, the first leader of Uruguay, paid an official visit to Vietnam, marking a new milestone of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. On this occasion, the two countries signed the Framework Agreement on Cooperation, an Agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and/or official passport holders, and a Memorandum of reference mechanism between the two foreign ministries.
According to statistics, Vietnam-Uruguay trade relations are still modest. Uruguay trade is always in surplus with Vietnam. In the first 6 months of 2013, Uruguay’s exports to Vietnam reached US$10.9 million, equal to 91 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Vietnam’s main exports include sports shoes, clothing, synthetic fibres, luggage bags, handicraft goods, coconut, plastic toys, natural rubber, tires, fine art crafts, and ceramics.
Vietnam's imports from Uruguay in the first 6 months of 2013 reached US$25.3 million, increasing by nearly 48 percent over the same period in 2012. The main imports from Uruguay include beef, leather, timber, wool, milk, squid, animal by-products, and pharmaceuticals.
Regarding investment, by September 2013 Uruguay had one project totalling US$100,000, ranking 95th out of 100 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
According to the assessment of some experts, Vietnam and Uruguay have the potential to cooperate and complement each other, especially in the fields of animal husbandry, agriculture, forestry, biotechnology, culture, sports. Yet, the geographical distance, lack of information about trade between the two countries, and indirect process are major barriers to increased economic development and investment between two countries.
Quynh Chi
Vietnamese
