Vietnam-Israel free trade agreement to help boost bilateral relations: Ambassador

Hanoi (VNA) - The upcoming signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and Israel will be a great achievement, opening up bilateral trade and investment cooperation opportunities, Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Yaron Mayer has said.

In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries (July 12, 1993-2023), the Israeli diplomat affirmed that the agreement will help bolster the bilateral relations.

He highlighted the fruitful development of bilateral relations across fields, especially in trade, agriculture and education.


Economic cooperation serves as a bridge to help Israel access Asia and Vietnam reach the Middle East market, he noted.

Regarding agriculture cooperation, Israel and Vietnam have worked together to develop many new ideas and technologies that are suitable for Vietnam’s agriculture development through training programmes, the diplomat said, adding that thousands of Vietnamese students have been trained in Israel over the last 15 years.

Mayer underlined the need for the two countries to further promote cooperation in education and training, saying that Israel wishes to contribute to Vietnam’s development through education-training cooperation, especially innovation.

Israel has had specific cooperation projects with institutes and academies, universities, and agencies of the Vietnamese Government to develop and encourage training programmes for young people, he said.

The diplomat also touched upon other potential fields that the two sides can expand cooperation, including climate change adaptation, clean energy, and green agriculture, adding that Israel has many new technologies and start-ups that are focusing on these industries.

He emphasised the necessity to enhance the exchange of business delegations to learn experience and seek cooperation opportunities.

The Israeli government and Embassy always create favourable conditions for enterprises of the two countries to strengthen trade and investment bonds, he affirmed.

Vietnam and Israel have exchanged delegations to share experience in aquaculture, cyber security, and drainage; and worked together to develop ideas, Mayer said.

Israeli investors have realised that Vietnam is an ideal destination for building factories and receiving technologies, while Vietnamese enterprises see Israel as a potential market for the pharmaceutical industry, high technology and others, he said.

In the near future, the two-way trade is likely to exceed 2 billion USD, he noted.

According to the diplomat, the two countries need to further enhance culture and people-to-people exchange, revealing that his country has planned to organise a concert in Vietnam later this year as one of the activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Vietnam – Israel diplomatic ties./.