Agreements enhance Vietnam-Laos border trade
VOV.VN - A conference was held in the Lao central province of Savannakhet on July 5 to disseminate a trade agreement and a border trade agreement signed by the two countries.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said the conference hosted by the Vietnamese and Lao Ministries of Industry and Trade in conjunction with the Vietnamese Consulate General in Savannakhet province, will help Vietnamese and Lao enterprises have easier access to business opportunities in their respective countries and outline future operation strategies.
H said the trade agreement was signed in March 2015 to replace an outdated pact in 1998. The two countries signed the border trade agreement in June 2015, under which they pledged to grant special preferences to each other.
The Vietnamese and Lao Ministries of Industry and Trade are willing to accompany the two countries’ firms in order to elevate trade and investment ties on par with the fruitful bilateral political links, Tu said.
The participating businesses also raised questions regarding the two trade deals, which were promptly responded to by the two ministries’ officials.
Kaseumsack Keosayavong, Chairman of Laos’ multi-sectoral Chaleunsap Group based in the Lao central province of Bolikhasay, said the deals, especially the free trade agreement, will help facilitate the trading of goods via the common border line between the two countries, thus benefiting their businesses.
The exemption of export-import tax imposed on farm produce in Vietnam will enable his group to increase its presence in the neighbouring country, he noted.