Vietnam- Burkina Faso Trade Ties: Tremendous Untapped Potential

Burkina Faso is located in the heart of West Africa and has a population of roughly 17.2 million. It is the 4^th largest populated market in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

 

The market size of Burkina Faso in the high income segment (US$20,000-45,000 annual household income) is 1 million households. It is evolving and growing at a very rapid pace. Furthermore, Burkina Faso has the highest rate of urbanization in the ECOWAS, making it an extremely attractive consumer market for retail investments. It provides access to 287 million consumers as an ECOWAS member with a combined GDP of US$530 billion as on March 2010. At 5.8 percent Burkina Faso’s GDP growth rate is highest in the ECOWAS. Its GDP per capita is the eighth largest at US$506 in 2010.

 

Burkina Faso shares a very warm relationship of friendship and cooperation with Vietnam. In recent years, we have been witnessing an increase in trade between Vietnam and our country; however, I feel that this is still in the nascent stage. Burkina Faso presents immense potential for trade and investment in all sectors. Currently Burkina Faso imports rice, motorcycle parts and medicare items from Vietnam and it exports Cashew nuts, sesame and cotton. I think the current trade relation between our two countries shows tremendous untapped potential that is waiting to be exploited by enterprising businessmen of both Vietnam and Burkina Faso.

 

My first meeting with Vice President of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) was to announce the arrival of the business delegation from Burkina Faso which, led by H.E. Mr Bernard Gnessa Zougouri, Secretary General with the Ministry of Trade and Industry was in Vietnam from 3rd to 8^th November 2013. I was very satisfied with the fruitful outcome of the meeting as it was a step forward towards increasing the cooperation between our two countries. In fact the visit of the Secretary General was a resounding success as he signed an MoU on cooperation in Trade and Industry with H.E. Mr Le Duong Quang, the Deputy Minister of Trade of Vietnam. The signing of the MoU established a legal foundation for boosting bilateral cooperation in general and trade and industry in particular.

 

The recent presentation of my credentials to H.E. Mr Truong Tan Sang, the President of Vietnam, has given me the opportunity to cooperate closely with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). My second meeting was a sign of commitment and during the interaction that we had, I was assured by the Vice-President of the VCCI of full cooperation and support on this front. I would be delighted if the two bodies sign cooperation agreements together.

 

We are working to reinforce the cooperation between the business communities of both the countries and to increase the People to People contact. I would like to work to promote all investors from Vietnam who would like to invest in Burkina Faso. To facilitate our interaction we intend to soon establish a Consulate of Burkina Faso in Vietnam, which will facilitate all issues related to visas, etc.

 

I think our two countries can take the bilateral cooperation in trade and investment to a much higher level. In its endeavour to increase the economic cooperation between our countries, the Embassy has just redesigned its website in order to make it easier for people to explore the sector wise potential of Burkina Faso. It is a new platform that aims to let businessmen prospect for partners online. I urge Vietnamese businessmen to visit our site at www.burkinafasoindia.org and explore and exploit the business opportunities in Burkina Faso.

 

One of the keys to promoting trade between the two countries is the organization of business forums and business missions while ensuring participation by the businessmen of the respective countries. Every two years Burkina Faso hosts AFRICALLIA which is organized by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry of Burkina Faso. I urge Vietnamese businessmen/entrepreneurs to participate in the next edition of AFRICALLIA to explore the immense potential for trade and investment not only in Burkina but also other African countries. This enhanced People to People contact will expose more business opportunities presented by both our countries.

 

The mutual understanding between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries will lead to spreading more awareness amongst their members of the trade and investment opportunities presented by each State. The members will also get an opportunity to participate in fairs and expos organized by the VCCI and CCIBF and have B2B meetings with prospective business partners and learn of new opportunities that may arise in the market.

 

There are many factors that make Burkina Faso an attractive destination for investment. If you go through our website you can see the Ten Good reasons for investing in Burkina Faso that we have listed there, but to summarize it I can tell you that Burkina Faso enjoys political and institutional stability. It has a significant untapped economic potential in the sectors of agriculture, mining, fisheries, industry, tourism, mining, energy and infrastructure.

It is centrally located in the heart of West Africa, ECOWAS and WAEMU States. Its common border with six States enables the country to have access to a potential market of 409 million inhabitants from WAEMU and ECOWAS States. It has a freely convertible common currency within the WAEMU and has fixed parity to the Euro. Our country has a young, dynamic, enterprising population, as well as an abundant and hard-working workforce. Burkina Faso has a favourable, innovative and attractive legal and regulatory framework for the protection, security and promotion of investments. The country’s political and institutional stability, its sustainable and healthy macroeconomic context makes it a prime choice for investors.

 

To conclude, I would first of all like to thank the President and the Government of Vietnam for accepting my letters of credence and giving me the opportunity of being the first Ambassador of my country to reinforce the bilateral ties and cooperation between our countries.

 

I would also like to express my gratitude to the VCCI for their dedication to contribute towards the reinforcement of business and trade cooperation between Burkina Faso and Vietnam.

 

My warm thanks to the magazine for having given me this platform to express myself.