Cat Lai Port in HCM City (Photo: VNA) Speaking at a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on March 30, Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy, Director of the Office of the Private Economic Development Research Committee, said there was immense potential for improvement in bilateral trade between Vietnam and India, especially in the logistics sector.
Vietnam’s heavy investment in infrastructure development has created significant opportunities for logistics enterprises, she said.
In addition to logistics, other key investment sectors include hi-tech agriculture, food processing, renewable energy, the supporting industry, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and tourism, among others.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown steadily from 200 million USD in 2000 to 15.05 billion USD in 2022, up 13.6% year-on-year, she said.
India is the eighth largest trading partner of Vietnam, while Vietnam is India’s fourth largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), she added.
Vietnam has become an attractive destination for Indian investors thanks to its stable political environment, appealing policies, affordable labour costs, and potential market access due to free trade agreements that the country has concluded, she said.
Dang Hong Nhung, from the Agency for Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the logistics sector in Vietnam had great potential for growth, given the heavy investments in infrastructure systems, including building and expanding expressways, airports, seaports, and logistics centres.
The Government last year issued a resolution to enhance the competitiveness of the logistics sector, making it a high-added value services sector.
Under the resolution, Vietnam aims to promote the logistics industry development with production, import and export activities.
It’s necessary to establish sustainable supply chains, improve the quality of human resources and promote digital transformation and technology application in the logistics industry.
The resolution also aimed to promote the development of green logistics, which has become a trend and an important indicator for the sustainable development of the logistics industry.
The Government has instructed the Ministry of Finance to continue reviewing the policies of taxes and fees while customs procedures would be further simplified to create favourable conditions for logistics services providers.
She also noted that 2023 would be a challenging year as the global economy is in a recession coupled with high inflationary risk, leading to a decrease in trade activities as well as logistics activities.
She recommended companies prepare for uncertainties in the context of the ongoing Russia – Ukraine conflict, natural disasters, diseases, or unexpected incidents.
Bui Trung Thuong, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in India, said India has a long coastline that is very convenient for shipping while Vietnam has a direct shipping route to India.
Vietnam and India should cooperate in building and expanding expressways, airports, seaports, and logistics centres, he added.
Experts also recommended Vietnam develop a strategy for green logistics to 2030, in which, the digital transformation should be sped up, infrastructure quality increased and conditions for multimodal transport improved.
Policies should also be raised to encourage small- and medium-sized enterprises to switch to green logistics and use renewable energy, they said.
Vietnam and India established diplomatic relations in 1972, which was lifted to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016./.
VNA
