Shoppers at a stall selling Thai products (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The third meeting of the Vietnam-Thailand Joint Trade Committee opened on August 2 in Hanoi to enhance bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
The two-day event is co-chaired by Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Tran Tuan Anh and Thai Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong.
At the meeting, the two sides will review economic and trade cooperation of the nations since the previous meeting in 2015, as well as discuss plans to bring two-way trade to 20 billion USD in 2020 and ensure a more balanced trade in the time to come.
Measures to address obstacles in export-import activities are high on the agenda.
The meeting will also talk about ways to promote collaboration in related areas, including trade facilitation, agriculture, transport connectivity, customs, banking, investment, labour, intellectual property, regional and sub-regional cooperation.
Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to the Department of Asia-Africa Markets under the MoIT.
Last year, Vietnam - Thailand trade rose to 15.3 billion USD from 11.5 billion USD in 2015, recording an average growth rate of 15.5 percent per year.
As of the beginning of July 2018, bilateral trade reached around eight billion USD, a rise of 14.7 percent year-on-year. Vietnam’s export revenue to Thailand hit 2.7 billion USD in the period, while its import stood at 5.3 billion USD.
Thailand’s statistics showed Vietnam is the second largest trading partner of Thailand in ASEAN, after Malaysia.-VNA
