Bangladesh will speed up its economic cooperation with Vietnam to a new level, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Vietnamese and Bangladeshi businesspeople in Hanoi.

She was addressing the Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum, which was held on November 3, with the participation of interested Vietnamese businesses and more than 20 big Bangladeshi groups and companies from the pharmacy, garment and textiles, construction, transport and agriculture sectors.

The Bangladeshi leader introduced to the participating businesses the preferential policies which are underway in her country to attract foreign investors, including those from Vietnam .

According to Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in recent years, Vietnam and Bangladesh enjoyed a high annual growth in trade and are making effort to double the two-way trade turnover of 500 million USD in 2011 within two or three years.

However, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat pointed out that the 290 million USD two-way trade value recorded in the first nine months of 2012 requires the two Governments to implement more cooperation policies, especially in agriculture and industry, to realise the goal.

The Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Council was set up at the forum with Nguyen Tien Dat, Director of Vissai Import-Export Company of the Hoang Phat Group, as Chairman.-VNA