Vietnam, Laos eye 2 billion USD in two-way trade
Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnam and Laos
expect to achieve 2 billion USD in two-way trade in the near future, given that
the figure surged 28.2% annually to 1.4 billion USD in ten months of this year,
heard a forum held in Vientiane on November 25.
Speaking at the event,
Somvixay Vongthilath, Deputy Director of Trade Promotion Department under the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC), said the event offers a
chance to listen to concerns of businesses and review the efficiency of
existing cooperation frameworks to fine-tune policies, mechanisms and laws,
thus helping firms improve their production and export capacity, even export to
the third country.
Deputy head of the Vietnamese
Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets Do Quoc Hung
said Laos now ranks first among 78 countries and territories invested by
Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the third biggest investor in Laos, mostly in
agriculture, banking, finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and
processing.
Reports at the event
focused on trade achievements between the two countries, bilateral cooperation
in market management and energy development.
Vice Chairman of the
Vietnamese Business Association in Laos Nguyen Xuan Ha suggested the MIC issue
policies to protect domestically-made goods and importers of goods via official
channels.
He also urged the two
governments and the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport to soon upgrade
the Lao section of road linking Vietnam and Laos and build the Hanoi-Vientiane
expressway to save time and cost of trade between the two nations.
Participants at the
event debated ways to pool more resources and corporate involvement in trade
infrastructure, retail distribution and processing industry to achieve the set
target of 2 billion USD soon./.