Workers produce towels at Hanosimex Ha Dong textile JSC. The company sold more than 1,130 tonnes of products in 2015. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

NEW DELHI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam and India made significant progress in the textile and garment trade last year, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Do Thang Hai, said at the third meeting of the Viet Nam-India Joint Sub-Commission on Trade last week.

Opening the meeting in New Delhi, India's Secretary of Commerce from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Rita Teaotia, hailed the strong ties between Viet Nam and India.

She also spoke highly of Viet Nam as the current co-ordinator between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the 2015-18 period.

The partnership between the two countries had expanded into multiple fields, such as textiles and garments, she said, while noting that little progress had been made in pharmaceuticals.

Teaotia said the two sides should enhance information exchange, particularly in trade and commerce, as well as strengthen connections in air and sea transportation.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said bilateral co-operation had made notable progress since the second meeting of the Viet Nam-India Joint Sub-Commission on Trade in Ha Noi last year, the highlight being textiles and garments, followed by energy and industry, footwear and chemicals.

The deputy minister said the two nations should enhance regional value chains and identify ways to support businesses to further cement bilateral economic ties. He said India's privileged credit package, worth US$300 million, for investments in Viet Nam's garment and textile sector, should take effect soon.

India could consider opening a bonded warehouse in Viet Nam to reduce costs and increase the competitiveness of its products, Hai said.

During the occasion, Hai also had a working session with India's Minister of Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar, in which he said that Viet Nam enjoyed the benefits of a number of FTAs, including a large market for exports, and had the advantage of having skilled workers in the textiles and garments sector, while India was a large supplier of cotton and fabrics.

The two countries could complement each other and tighten their partnership so as to integrate more deeply into global value chains, he said.

Gangwar said he would propose to the Indian government that it should address the remaining challenges in the two sides' co-operation in textiles and garments, and that he hoped the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Viet Nam would give a push towards that end. — VNS