Vietnam Seeking to Sign Free Trade Agreement with India
Vietnam Seeking to Sign Free Trade Agreement with India
Vietnam has urged India to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
The two countries should widen trade baskets and reduce customs duties in order to reach a bilateral trade target of US$1 billion by 2006, suggested Ton Sinh Thanh, trade counselor at the Embassy of Vietnam in India.
According to the Vietnamese trade counselor, Vietnam and India can promote bilateral trade co-operation in such fields as tea, coffee, agricultural technology, processed food, fertilizer production, information technology, education and training.
In 2003 and 2004, the two-way trade turnover between the two countries reached US$448.65 million, which accounted for a mere 0.32 per cent of India’s total trade value. Vietnam only earned US$38 million from exports to India.
"We estimate that in 2004-05, exports from Vietnam to India to reach US$70-75 million, and the exports from India to Vietnam at US$550 million," he said.
Thanh also asked Indian tourists to consider Vietnam as a tourist destination. Though there were about six million Indian travelers to overseas tourist destination last year, only 6,000 visited Vietnam, he pointed out.
Vietnamese
