With a population of 1.1 billion people and the second highest GDP growth rate in Asia, India offers many opportunities for Vietnamese businesses, said Vietnam’s ambassador to India, Vu Quang Diem.

The main goods exported from Vietnam to India include pepper, rubber, computer hardware and electronic products, cinnamon bark and spices, and garments and textile products.

According to Mr. Diem, Vietnamese goods are highly competitive in the Indian market, evidenced by a 20 percent annual growth rate in Vietnam’s exports to India over the past few years.

However, two-way trade between the two countries remains “modest”, with the trade balance being in India’s favour.

The economic development gap is one of the major hinderances for trade promotion between India and Vietnam, the ambassador said.

The ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement and the Vietnam-India Free Trade Agreement, soon to be signed, should increase the level of trade between the two nations.

These agreements will create better conditions for Vietnamese goods and help to consolidate their market-share in the Indian market, said the diplomat.

The Vietnamese embassy in India is preparing to launch a number of campaigns to promote Vietnamese products and its tourist industry. A selection of Indian companies and economic sectors will also be identified as being potentially beneficial to Vietnam for business and investment activities.

According to Mr. Diem, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India in July 2007 helped to bring in big investment projects from India to Vietnam.

These include the US$527 million steel refinery project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, the Indian Essar group’s US$600 million oil exploration and exploitation project and two big steel projects with more than US$4 billion being invested by the Tata group in Ha Tinh province. Last year India ranked sixth in the list of foreign investors in Vietnam.