Belarus boosts economic ties with Vietnam
Representatives from more than 60 Vietnamese and 80 Belarusian businesses gathered at a forum in Belarus’ capital city of Minsk on September 11 to explore their cooperation prospects.
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang noted the forum is a good chance for both sides to seek opportunities and partners in economic-trade and investment cooperation.
The good political and diplomatic relations between the two countries provide a favourable environment for expanding their cooperation to other fields, particularly on economics and trade, he said.
Hoang expressed his hope that together with a number of important events currently underway in Belarus, the forum will add a fresh impetus to economic and trade ties between the two sides, citing the current negotiations of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Belarus Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Trade and Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Belarusian Minister of Industry Dmitry Katerinich said Belarus is keen to cooperate with Vietnam in the promising realms of high technology, agricultural machine manufacturing, fertiliser production, metallurgy and transport infrastructure.
The FTA between Vietnam and the Customs Union, once realised, will bring about great opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to conquer the large market of the union, while opening the door for goods from the union member countries to enter Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, he added.
Leaders of Vietnam and Belarus earlier set the target of bringing their two-way trade to US$500 million by 2015. The figure stood at US$190 million last year.