Vietnam and Myanmar need to work on the establishment of a State committee on economic cooperation and the signing of a double-taxation avoidance agreement to boost trade, said President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Nguyen Thien Nhan on March 17.

At his meeting with representatives of Vietnamese businesses and Myanmar managerial agencies in Yangon during his friendship visit to the ASEAN member state, the VFF President shared Vietnam’s experience in foreign investment management to help local authorities remove business bottlenecks.

He made it clear that Vietnam’s banking and telecommunications activities which are waiting for Myanmar’s operation licences, will neither affect local banking activities nor security, but help enhance positive competition.

Nhan suggested Vietnamese companies holding regular meetings with Myanmar government and ministry officials to timely report their operation problems while organising annual trade fairs to foster trading activities.

Vietnam now ranks eighth among foreign investors in Myanmar with seven projects worth 513 million USD. Two-way trade reached 480 million USD last year and enjoyed an average growth rate of nearly 40 percent between 2010 and 2014.

Myanmar is regarded as a potential market by Vietnamese businesses given its young population and cultural similarities. Trade between the two countries is expected to hit 1.5 billion USD in the next two years and 1.7 billion USD by 2020.

Officials from Myanmar’s foreign investment management agency said they noted down raised issues and will make proposals to improve the situation, adding that their country is striving to improve its infrastructure so as to facilitate investments.

As part of his visit to Myanmar, Nhan met with the Chief Minister of Yangon Region to introduce cooperation opportunities. He also pointed out some hindrances face by Vietnamese firms during their investment here and asked the Chief Minister to help solve these matters.-VNA