Vietnam, India eye $15-bn bilateral trade by 2020

Vietnam-India bilateral trade has the potential to reach the target of $15 billion by 2020 with the blossoming of trade and economic relations between the two countries, Vietnam's deputy prime minister Hoang Trung Hai told a visiting Indian delegation.

He noted that there is great potential for trade and investment cooperation in textiles, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, leather, energy and oil and gas, and invited Indian companies to invest in Vietnam.

He also accepted the Indian side's invitation conveyed by commerce secretary to visit India this year.

The minister was addressing an official delegation from India headed by commerce secretary Rajeev Kher, and consisting of senior officials from the ministries of commerce, textiles and the department of pharmaceuticals and the export promotion councils along with representatives of companies from the textiles, pharmaceuticals, engineering, agriculture and leather sectors.

Kher co-chaired the second meeting of the India-Vietnam Sub-Commission on Trade with Vietnamese vice minister of industry and trade Cao Quoc Hung on 230 January 2015 in Hanoi.

At the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress made since the first meeting and discussed measures to enhance cooperation in textiles, pharmaceuticals, agri-trade, investment, services and so on. The discussions focused on implementing decisions taken during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to India in October 2014 wherein both prime ministers agreed to enhance economic and trade cooperation as a strategic objective.

India and Vietnam established a joint sub-commission on trade in 2013 with the objective of boosting bilateral trade and economic cooperation and the first meeting of the sub-commission was held in November 2013 in New Delhi.

During the 19-21 January visit, Kher met vice minister of agriculture and rural development Vu Van Tan, vice minister of health Pham Le Tuan and senior officials of the Drug Administration of Vietnam. He also called on Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Hoang Trung Hai in Hanoi and Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Le Manh Ha in Ho Chi Minh City.

The delegation also visited Ho Chi Minh City on 21 January to attend a business-to-business event jointly organised by both governments, with participation of around 100 companies from both sides.