Viet Nam and northern European countries have a potential for enhanced co-operation in trade and investment, according to speakers at a conference held yesterday by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ha Noi. — Photo baoquocte.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam and northern European countries have a potential for enhanced co-operation in trade and investment, according to speakers at a conference held yesterday by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ha Noi.

Viet Nam and northern European countries had signed agreements on co-operation in economy, science-technology, trade, trade promotion and protection, and aviation transportation, creating legal frameworks for collaboration between Viet Nam and each nation, said the chamber's vice chairman, Doan Duy Khuong. In order to boost economic and trade ties between Viet Nam and these countries, a range of projects have been launched, Khuong added.

According to the official, when the Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement takes effect, northern Europe will be a gateway for Vietnamese enterprises to access the EU market.

Viet Nam, for its part, could serve as a bridge between northern European enterprises and lucrative Southeast Asian markets with untapped trade and investment opportunities, Khuong said.

However, domestic firms should be more proactive in improving their market knowledge and sharpening their competitiveness if they wanted to effectively tap into European markets, he suggested.

Katja Majbom Goodhew of Denmark's embassy in Viet Nam said Danish consumers had high standards of food safety and quality, environmental hygiene, and animal welfare. She advised Vietnamese producers and exporters to carefully study the demands of Danish consumers and make information about the ingredients of their products transparent.

Northern Europe, which comprises Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, is described as a lucrative market for Vietnamese exporters thanks to high per capita incomes and huge demand for items which Viet Nam has been promoting.

Despite the distance, two-way trade between Viet Nam and northern European nations reached approximately US$1.3 billion annually in recent years; about $500 million of that amount came from Vietnamese exports of raw materials, rubber, machinery, computers, electronics, textiles and garments. — VNS