Viet Nam and UAE officials witness the MoU signing between UAE-based Vietgate firm and a local firm in Viet Nam at the forum. — Photo baoxaydung.com

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam and the UAE have targeted a bilateral trade turnover of US$10 billion before 2020.

The information was released at the third session of the Vietnam - UAE Inter-Governmental Committee held in Ha Noi on May 11. The session was chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The two sides expressed their pleasure on the rapid growth of bilateral co-operation and agreed to facilitate joint ventures and investments in the petroleum sector as well as increasing co-operation in renewable energies, ship repairing, chemicals and mechanical engineering.

The two sides would be especially active in negotiating co-operation agreements on customs and banking to create favourable conditions for trade exchanges for their businesses.

In addition, they would accelerate negotiations of supplement articles into investment pacts. They also highlighted the importance of direct flights between the two countries to facilitate investment and tourism.

Minister Anh said Viet Nam and UAE should continue to review and negotiate co-operation agreements to help their companies get access to each other's markets as well as co-operation in industrial and petroleum sectors.

The two countries should also encourage investments in agriculture, seafood, culture, and tourism, in addition to construction.

VN, UAE firms connect to boost profits

Trade between Viet Nam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would grow another 20 to 22 per cent this year, said Pham Binh Dam, Vietnamese ambassador to the UAE in an economic forum in Ha Noi on the same day. Last year the trade value between the two countries was US$6.2 billion.

Seeing the potential to boost the relationship with the seventh largest export market of Viet Nam, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoIT) hosted the economic forum with the participation of more than 150 firms from both countries.

Tran Quang Huy, general director of MoIT's South East Asia and Africa Market Department, said the forum was a boost to the relationship and a chance to connect firms from two countries.

Pham Trung Nghia, commercial counselor and head of Viet Nam's Trade Office in Dubai, added that the major imports to the UAE included pepper, rice and coffee, followed by electronics and computer spare parts, textiles and garments, shoes and footwear, and aquatic products.

Counselor Nghia said Viet Nam agricultural products were more and more winning the hearts of UAE consumers, with Vietnamese dragon fruit dominant in the UAE market. Vietnamese bananas and pineapples were also increasingly being ordered from the country.

Dam said UAE investors, especially those involved in luxury hospitality and real estate development, would benefit from the rising tourism in Việt Nam, with its beautiful beaches and other natural sites. Last year, Viet Nam reported 57 million local visitors and eight million foreign visitors to the country.

Dam said the strong wave of UAE investment in Việt Nam in the 2006-07 period, which was disrupted by the 2008 global financial crisis, now showed signs of recovery, especially when low oil prices were pushing Middle East investors to seek other channels of investment in Asia.

The ambassador said, "Now is the right time for such investments," adding that Viet Nam with its increasing middle class preferred luxury resorts and services for their holidays.

Also, well-known for its renewable energy, UAE was seeking to invest in solar power plants in Viet Nam. Dam said, on the occasion that it had found potential cooperation with some local provinces. Currently, UAE has invested over US$2 billion in a thermal power plant in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

In response, Saed Al Awadi, CEO of the Dubai Export Development Corporation told Vietnamese firms at the forum that they should not consider the UAE as a single market. With about 80 million visitors to Dubai every year, it was a regional hub where products would be transferred and seen by people from all around the world.

According to the Dubai Export Plan for 2016, they will host ten exhibitions dedicated mainly to the construction and food sectors with a focus on non-oil markets in Europe, Africa and Asia. In the plan, Vietnam and Cambodia were representatives for Asia.

In the Gulfood Exhibition 2016 in Dubai in February, Vietnamese dairy firm Vinamilk won a US$12.5 million contract to export powdered milk for babies to the UAE. — VNS