The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and German Messe Frankfurt on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on enhancing cooperation in trade promotion activities.

At the event, Vietrade’s director Vu Ba Phu announced that the two sides will coordinate to organise four international trade fairs focusing on textile yarns, fabrics, accessories and textile technology; consumer goods including furniture, kitchenware and gifts; industrial automation technology; and bicycle industry including finished products and spare parts and components.

Phu highlighted Vietrade's experience in organising international fairs in Viet Nam and bringing Vietnamese businesses to major trade fairs abroad. However, the agency's activities have so far only focused on agriculture, seafood, or food and have lacked international support in industrial-related fairs

"Thus, we have been looking for partners to collaborate in organising international-scale fairs in Viet Nam in the industrial field such as textiles and mechanical automation and manufacturing."

Messe Frankfurt is the world's leading company in the field of organising trade fairs, conferences and seminars. The MOU signing is expected to establish an effective mechanism for implementing trade promotion activities, creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to participate in international fairs and establishing the brands of Vietnamese enterprises in international markets.

Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, expressed his hope that the cooperation will be beneficial for Vietrade's goal of facilitating trade connections for businesses in the industrial and manufacturing sector and contribute to the Vietnamese government's commitment to deepening its economic integration.

Viet Nam has recently joined the group of the top 20 largest economies in terms of trade scale in 2022, with export growth reaching 8-10 per cent per year on average during 2015-20. In 2022, the total import and export turnover of goods reached a record of US$732.5 billion, a 9.5 per cent year-on-year increase. — VNS