The agreement was reached at a workshop in Hanoi on July 2 on the prospects of economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Uzbekistan.

Addressing the workshop, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh noted that the two countries have signed many agreements of cooperation, creating a necessary legal corridor for establishing cooperative links in various areas.

According to Mr Vinh, Vietnam has great potential for exporting garments, footwear, tea, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, rubber, rice, seafood and handicrafts to Uzbekistan. It has a great demand for importing cotton, metals, machinery and chemicals from the Central Asian country.

However, trade ties between the two countries remain modest compared to the total import-export value of each country. In 2007, two-way trade fetched only just over US$6.6 million, of which US$1 million was generated from Vietnamese exports.   

Nasriddin Najimov, the first Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, shared the view that economic and trade ties between the two countries have yet to match their potential. He proposed Vietnam either import cotton materials directly from Uzbekistan or establish a joint venture in his country to export garments to the Commonwealth of Independent States.