A seminar on Vietnam-Mexico tourism and trade was held in Hanoi on August 25, paving the way for the drawing up of a bilateral cooperation plan for the future focusing on increasing trade revenues, stated an official from Pro-Mexico, a Mexican government organisation.

The Pro-Mexico Regional Director for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East , Salomon Sacal also confirmed that his government always facilitates Vietnamese businesses if they intend to invest in the country.

For her part, Deputy Director General of the Vietnamese National Administration of Tourism Hoang Thi Diep said that the seminar would be a big opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to expand their business operations in Mexico , one of the world’s newly emerging markets.

The value of two-way trade saw a 2.5 fold year-on-year increase in 2008. Mexico mainly imports garments, footwear and handicraft products from Vietnam . In exports, Mexico provides the Southeast Asian nation with tree seedlings and high-yielding cattle and helps to train technicians in the oil, gas and minerals industries.

To promote ties in bilateral tourism, Diep suggested that both countries promote each others tourist industries and facilitate tourism businesses.

The seminar, the first of its kind held by the Mexican embassy in Hanoi , aims to provide information on the potential for cooperation in tourism and trade with Mexico to Vietnamese travel agents and export businesses./.