They also agreed to create more favourable conditions for Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and its UAE counterpart to intensify cooperation in the oil and petroleum business, natural oil products, and the exploration, exploitation, and processing oil and gas at the first session of the Vietnam-UAE Intergovernmental Committee in Hanoi on November 25.

The meeting, attended by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and UAE Minister for Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, aimed to implement an agreement on bilateral cooperation signed in February 2009 during the official visit to the UAE by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

At the meeting, the UAE side said they will consider the possibility of supplying Vietnam with a stable amount of petrol, oil and related products on a long-term basis.

Regarding two-way trade, Vietnam and the UAE agreed to continue to exchange information and encourage enterprises from both countries to attend trade fairs, exhibitions, and other trade promotion activities held in each country.

During the meeting, Vietnam proposes providing the UAE with foodstuffs on a long-term and stable basis.

The UAE is now Vietnam’s second largest market in the Middle East. Vietnam is expected to enjoy an estimated trade surplus of US$630 million in trade with the UAE this year.