Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai onAugust 4 held a virtual meeting with Rodrigo Yáñez Benitez, Under-Secretary forInternational Economic Relations at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, toboost economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
Themeeting aimed at promoting bilateral collaboration amid COVID-19, taking fulladvantage of the Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Bothsides expressed their delight at growth in bilateral trade in 2019, as Chilebecame Vietnam’s fourth-largest partner in Latin America with revenue of 1.23billion USD, up 12.95 percent year-on-year.
Notably,two-way trade then reached nearly 568 million USD in the first half of 2020despite the serious impact of COVID-19, down just 1.04 percent year-on-year.
The two officialsproposed intensifying supply chains as well as the production and export offace masks and protective gear, and to step up trade promotion activities bothonline and offline.
Regardingthe CPTPP, Hai expressed his hope that Chile will soon carry out procedures domesticallyto ratify the agreement and create a new driving force for trade relationsbetween Chile and Vietnam in particular and between other signatories ingeneral.
TheChilean official suggested maintaining bilateral cooperation mechanisms toexchange information and foster collaboration in trade promotion, customs,e-commerce, and digital economy.
He askedVietnam to help strengthen the relationship between Chile and ASEAN, given thecountry has assumed the ASEAN Chair for this year./.
VNA
