This statement was given in the meeting between President of VCCI Vu Tien Loc and Mr Mirza Azam, MP of the Parliament of Bangladesh and State Minister for Textile and Jute, in VCCI head office recently. The event was held on the occasion of the visit of a Bangladesh delegation of senior officials led by Mr Mirza Azam to Vietnam from June 6-9, 2015.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Minza Azam affirmed that the Vietnam-Bangladesh bilateral relations have had much important development, both politically and economically. The two sides signed 14 decrees and agreements on cooperation in politics, economy, trade and investment, and Bangladesh and Vietnam cooperated and supported each other in international forums like the United Nations, The Non-Aligned Movement, and ASEAN. However, in general, the economic cooperation between the two countries remains underdeveloped. The two sides are currently working to bring economic and trade cooperation as well as cooperation in other fields such as agriculture, fisheries, industry, handicraft, finance, banking, culture, education and training, tourism and health care to a level on par with political relations.
In terms of jute potential, Mr Minza Azam said Bangladesh had advantage in growing and producing jute, the country currently was exporting jute to 120 countries worldwide. According to Mr Mirza Azam, since Vietnam is among the largest rice exporters in the world, Bangladesh wished to seek cooperation opportunities to export rice packaging products to Vietnam to serve rice exporters. He also expressed the wish to promote exports of products made from natural jute which were environmental friendly of Bangladesh to Vietnam and suggested that Vietnam use jute packages for the country’s export products such as coffee and tea.
Dr Vu Tien Loc, President of the VCCI highly appreciated the traditional friendship between the two countries of many similar characteristics, who had potential for long-term cooperation and could complement each other for further development. This was an important prerequisite for the two sides’ businesses to have confidence to further promote opportunities of business and investment cooperation, especially in the fields of textiles, information technology, education and training. Most particular was agriculture, an area where Vietnam has had a lot of success.
As for collaboration with VCCI, Dr Loc said that VCCI had signed cooperation agreements with The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (1997) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce-FBCCI (11/2012). Also, on the occasion of the official visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 11/2012, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Bangladesh Embassy in Vietnam organized the “Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum” at the VCCI office on 03/11/2012. At the Forum, the two countries’ businesses had been provided and updated information on markets and incentives to attract investment and encourage bilateral trade. They also had a chance to meet directly with businesses of the same category. The forum provided a good opportunity for Vietnam - Bangladesh investment and trade cooperation.
The president of VCCI recommended that for the upcoming time, the two sides should strengthen exchanges of information, especially information regarding trade policy and investment, and quickly set up channels to provide information promptly and efficiently for both business communities. Besides, it’s also necessary to encourage and create favourable conditions for businesses in implementing investment projects, opening representative offices or branches, establishing companies in each other as well as increasing activities of investment promotion, encouraging enterprises to actively participate in trade fairs and business seminars in either country. VCCI was willing to support both Vietnamese and Bangladesh businesses in organising seminars, fairs and exhibitions to promote potential and advantages of the two countries.
According to statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, exports from Vietnam to Bangladesh in the first quarter of 2015 reached US$ 164.55 million, down slightly from US$ 177.38 million of the same period in 2014.
Vietnam’s main export commodities to Bangladesh include clinker and cement, fibres, yarns of various kinds, textiles, textile materials, footwear, iron and steel. Most of these items enjoyed growth compared to the same period of 2014. However, total export of Vietnam to Bangladesh declined slightly due to the fall in cement and clinker, which have been key export items of Vietnam to Bangladesh recent years.
Vietnam’s import from Bangladesh in 2014 reached nearly US$ 56.3 million, up 53 percent compared with 2013, of which, the most important import items were textile materials and footwear (US$ 23.1 million), pharmaceuticals (US$ 11.4 million), sesame seeds (US$ 7.1 million), seafood (US$ 2.1 million), fibre (US$ 1.9 million).
Thu Ha
Vietnamese
