Vietnam, Brunei forge trade links

Brunei has become a potential and reliable trade partner and investor of Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade reached US$17 million in the first six months of this year. Of which, Vietnam exported US$8.4 million worth of goods to the market, mainly rice and seafood. The country spent US$8.7 million chiefly importing chemicals.

The Vietnam Trade Office in Brunei said despite differences in area, population and culture, both countries share similar views on regional and international issues, creating a premise for the two sides to enhance cooperative ties.

Furthermore, as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam and Brunei have actively and proactively got engaged in ASEAN cooperation fields such as defining the bloc’s future development orientations and outlining major policies.

This has helped strengthen solidarity among member states, and increase the role and position of ASEAN in the region and beyond.

Over the past few years, the two nations have witnessed high-level delegation exchanges such as the visit to Brunei by President Tran Duc Luong in 2001 and by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2007. Brunei King Hassanal Bolkiah visited Vietnam to attend ASEAN, ASEM and APEC conferences in 1998, 2004, and 2006.

The two countries have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on sports and youths collaboration, and another on oil and gas cooperation, creating legal foundations for the bilateral partnership in the fields.

Vietnam and Brunei are expected to secure a cooperation agreement in cultivation and seafood farming soon.

Experts suggested Vietnamese firms build a proper marketing strategy to boost exports to the market.