The event, which aimed to support Vietnamese companies as they seek opportunities for co-ordination with potential Seychelles partners and vice verse, was attended by Seychelles President James Alix Michel—VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — There are untapped potentials for Viet Nam and Seychelles to accelerate the bilateral co-operation in such sectors as tourism, oil and gas, marine economy, agriculture and seafood.

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Vu Tien Loc delivered this statement during the Viet Nam – Seychelles Business Forum organised yesterday in Ha Noi.

The event, which aimed to support Vietnamese companies as they seek opportunities for co-ordination with potential Seychelles partners and vice verse, was attended by Seychelles President James Alix Michel.

Vietnamese businesses have been offered an ideal opportunity in the Seychelles International Trade Zone to export niche products and offer services to the wider African region, said Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affair Jean-Paul Adam.

Africa has a population of over a billion and the combined economy was US$ 1.9 trillion with economic growth reported to be 6 per cent in 2012-13, he said.

Seychelles was the closest partner nation for Viet Nam and the ASEAN region, both in geographical terms and in terms of the economic and legal framework to facilitate investment, he added.

"We are open to welcoming new banks, both retail and offshore, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds to set up in Seychelles. We are therefore poised to becoming your partner for investment in the region," he said.

The signing of the MoU between the respective Viet Nam and Seychelles chambers' of commerce and industry that also took place yesterday should establish the required framework to further encourage reciprocal business and commercial relations between the two countries, he further stressed.

During the event, participants also heard about the current status of trade and investment in Seychelles and its vast potentials in tourism, seafood and marine economy.

Despite the geographic distance, Seychelles is now Viet Nam's largest foreign investor in the African bloc, with eight projects capitalised at US$33.6 million. Seychelles investments in Viet Nam were in the fields of ready mixed concrete, cement, plastics, springs for industrial production, seafood processing and packing, fruit and vegetables.

Two-way trade reached approximately $2.2 million in 2012 with $1.3 million coming from Vietnamese exports including rice, chemical products and fish net production. — VNS