Romania, Vietnam Boost Business Cooperation

The forum was held on the occasion of the Vietnam working visit by Mr Vlad Vasiliu from June 13 to 17, 2016 in the framework of the 15^th meeting of the Vietnam - Romania Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation. He was accompanied by a business delegation comprised of companies engaged in purified water, electric equipment, low-voltage electrical switches, automation, electronics, telecommunications, information technology, oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical refinery, and industrial construction.

 

Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh, Deputy Secretary General of VCCI, affirmed that Vietnam and Romania have a long tradition of cooperation. In 2015, the two countries celebrated the 65^th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1950-2015), marking a long history of cooperation for sustainable development. In recent years, the multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Romania has been constantly strengthened and developed. In trade cooperation, the two-way trade turnover has grown rapidly since 2012, particularly topping the benchmark of US$150 million for the first time in 2014, of which Vietnam’s exports to Romania accounted for two-thirds. Particularly in 2015, the bilateral trade value reached US$170 million, of which Vietnam earned US$102 million. However, this result was still very modest relative to the abundant potential of the two countries.

 

Currently, Romania is the largest Southern European market with 21 million people, and the seventh largest country by area in Europe. This is the gateway to EU countries with more than 500 million consumers thanks to its favourable geographical location situated at the crossroads of EU countries, the Balkans and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Moreover, Romania also is located at the head of three economic corridors in Europe, a place convenient for shipping goods to EU countries. Romania is strong in oil and gas, petrochemical, architecture, construction, ports, health and agricultural processing and it has high demand for imported tropical products and consumer goods from Vietnam.

 

He said that some 600 Vietnamese people are living in Romania, mainly trading fashion products at "Dragon" Trade Centre in Bucharest. In education, Romania always strongly supports Vietnam. In 2006, the Romanian Government set up a scholarship programme for doctoral training in Francophone countries, including Vietnam. With the good relationship between the two countries, the Romanian Government considers Vietnam a traditional partner and an important bridgehead for cooperation with the Southeast Asian region.

 

"Vietnam and Romania are in the golden period, with formidable strengths to further promote trade cooperation which remains really incommensurate with good traditions as well as abundant potential of both countries," Vinh noted.

 

He explained that this is because companies of the two countries lack information about each other. Although the regulatory environment has been improved, the pace is slow. The two sides also lack cooperation agreements in banking, customs and tourism to facilitate trade. Other reasons include their remote geographical distances, high transportation costs, different customs and payment procedures.

 

Mr Vinh said, to create a more conducive regulatory environment for economic and commercial cooperation in the coming years, trade promotion agencies of the two countries should strengthen support for provision of market and partner information, and help organise conferences, seminars, market research and product promotion. In addition, to have a solid foothold in the market and increase traditional exports to Romania, apart from boosting trade promotion activities, attending trade fairs and conducting surveys, Vietnamese companies must ensure the amounts delivered, improved designs, enhance product quality and develop new products.

 

He added, to further promote economic, investment and trade relations, aside from support of the two Governments, the business community must make greater efforts. "VCCI always serves as a locomotive and actively builds development strategies and business support for enterprises when they do business and investment. As for Romania, both Chambers of Commerce signed a bilateral cooperation agreement and pledged to support a variety of practical activities such as business forums, dialogues on investment policy environment and experience sharing in the key fields of Vietnam and Romania," said Mr Vinh.