A Vietnam-India workshop took place in Hanoi on Nov. 7 to promote economic cooperation and investment between the two countries towards the goal of 7 billion USD in two-way trade by 2015.

Themed “India Calling 2011”, the workshop was co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Indian Embassy in Vietnam .

Speaking at the workshop, MoIT Deputy Minister Le Duong Quang affirmed that Vietnam wants to promote multifaceted cooperation with India , which is one of the 10 largest trade partners of Vietnam .

He pledged Vietnam will facilitate Indian enterprises’ business and investment in Vietnam in the fields of finance, energy, education, construction, hi-technology, machine and equipment.

Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae stressed that India considers Vietnam as a special partner, because of the country’s strong potential and attraction.

India will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in India, especially in infrastructure, construction, Ranjit Rae affirmed, adding the 7 billion USD target is within reach when the India-ASEAN agreement on free trade of goods takes effect.

In the first ten months of this year, the export-import turnover between Vietnam and India reached nearly 3 billion USD, up 40 percent over the same period last year./.