Ample room remains for Vietnam, India to expand trade co-operation

These remarks were made during a trade webinar and a face-to-face meeting held at two bridge points in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong and the Indian capital of New Delhi on December 17.

During his speech, Atul Kumar Saxena, president of Indian Importers Chambers of Commerce & Industries (IICCI), highlighted the array of great opportunities that exist to enjoy stronger trade, investment, and business co-operation between both nations, adding that the markets of both sides serve to supplement each other.

Vietnam is capable of exporting agricultural products, fresh fruits, processed food, and furniture to India. In return, Indian businesses have the chance to take advantage of the potential that exists within the Vietnamese market in the fields of pharmaceuticals, information technology, and machinery, Saxena added.

At present, the nation produces a large quantity of electronic products for exports. With changes occurring in the global business environment, the country is capable of offering a wide range of products that can substitute for goods imported from China. As a result of changes occurring in geopolitics, the IICCI is in the process of moving co-operation ties in this direction.

Domestic firms can also strive to take advantage of the technologies that India owns as a means of upgrading their own infrastructure, although Indian businessmen must come to the country in order to explore products and future business opportunities across multiple fields, the IICCI official noted.

According to Do Quoc Hung, deputy director of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, India is among the nation’s 10 leading trading partners, whilst the country is the fourth largest trading partner of India in ASEAN. Two-way trade turnover has witnessed an increase of over 10 times since the first establishment of a strategic partnership in 2007, rising to over US$11 billion in 2019, of which Vietnamese exports to India reached US$6.6 billion. Most notably, the investment sector is also viewed as a bright sport in bilateral trade and investment ties.

India has poured approximately US$1 billion into roughly 250 projects throughout the nation so far. Recently, the Indian technology company HCL officially announced the establishment of a branch in the country, including an investment of some US$650 million with a set target of training 10,000 engineers.

Furthermore, tourism co-operation has seen strong developments in recent years, with tourist exchanges between the two countries rapidly increasing. In the 2016 to 2019 period, Indian visitors to Vietnam surged by an average of 25% annually, and Vietnamese visitors to the South Asian nation recorded an annual rise of 17%.

In the context of global trade being an extremely important factor in an effort to promote growth and prosperity with markets starting to recover from the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Vietnamese and Indian businesses must seize upon the opportunities to boost production and business co-operation. In addition, both sides should strive to diversify sources in order to bolster imports and exports moving forward.