India asked to open market for Vietnamese farm produce

Vietnam is a country which is rich in tropical fruits, although so far only dragon fruit has reached the Indian market, Minister Dien said. He therefore called on the Indian diplomat to provide support in hastening the import licensing process for Vietnamese fruits, initially longan, pomelo, rambutan, and durian, before expanding it to others such as avocado, coconut, watermelon, and strawberry.

The Vietnamese official raised concerns regarding India's policy measures in recent years, including those against peppercorn, cashew nuts, and incense sticks from the nation, underlining that the measures may hinder trade activities between the two sides.

He went on to suggest that the Indian Ambassador convey these concerns, as well as those from ASEAN countries, to relevant authorities, while seeking suitable solutions on the basis of regulations and commitments in multilateral framework to ensure the legitimate interests of all parties.

The Vietnamese trade official hailed the role of the Ambassador in promoting the partnership between the two countries, especially in trade, industry, and energy. He therefore expressed his hope that the diplomat will make greater contributions to the overall growth of the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership in the time to come.

Both sides noted their satisfaction at the expanding bilateral economic, trade, and investment co-operation over the years, with India becoming one of the country’s largest investors and trade partners in the South Asian region.

However, over the last year two-way trade hit only US$15 billion, up 13.6% on-year but accounting for only 2% of the nation’s total trade, they said

They outlined that with sound political and diplomatic relations, high co-operation potential, and large international scale from both sides, there remains still room to further promote bilateral trade.

Minister Dien asked for India’s close co-ordination in preventing the disruption of the supply and production chain in the region and the world.
The two sides should seek to intensify trade promotion programmes and activities to connect businesses of the two countries, Minister Dien  went on to say.

In response, Ambassador Arya said that the nation is the most important trade partner of India among ASEAN, with the Vietnamese and Indian economies capable of supplementing each other.

Furthermore, Vietnam can also be viewed as a key Indian partner within its Indo-Pacific Vision and Act East Policy, he said.

He spoke glowingly of economic co-operation potential between the two nations, especially in terms of renewable energy, oil and gas, information technology, the digital economy, and pharmaceuticals, which will lead to abundant collaboration opportunities between the two sides moving forward.

The diplomat agreed with measures aimed at enhancing bilateral economic and trade ties proposed by Minister Dien, especially those on preventing the disruption of supply chain, strengthening trade promotion, and expanding the trade of farm produce.

Regarding India's trade-restrictive policy measures, Ambassador Arya pledged that he will discuss the issue with relevant Indian agencies as part of efforts to seek positive solutions.

As both sides are preparing for high-level visit exchange this year, they should promptly deal with existing problems in bilateral economic and trade partnership, he underlined.

He therefore agreed to organise the next meeting of the Vietnam-India joint sub-committee on trade co-operation in New Delhi in the first half of the year, before the organisation of the Vietnam-India Joint Committee’s meeting and visits of both nations’ leaders.