Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and his Timor-Leste counterpart Gil da Costa Alves discussed measures to boost economic and trade relations between the two Southeast Asian countries during their talks in Hanoi on Sept. 22.

The two ministers agreed that Vietnam and Timor-Leste have potential of cooperation in petroleum, mining, wood processing, agriculture, garments and agricultural machinery.

They also agreed to speed up bilateral cooperation, the two countries should soon undertake negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, sign cooperation agreements on rice trading, exchange delegations for market research, encourage the enterprises of each country to intensify two-way business and increase cooperation in oil and gas industry

According to Minister Vu Huy Hoang, Vietnam will send a delegation to Timor-Leste to seek cooperation opportunities in industry, trade and investment in the fourth quarter of this year.

The two ministers signed an agreement on rice trading between the two countries.

Timor-Leste is a rice importing country, with a yearly demand of 150,000-200,000 tonnes, while Vietnam is one of the world’s largest rice exporters./.