Promoting bilateral investment and business activities between Vietnam and Bangladesh
As of the end of September 2021, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Bangladesh reached USD 981 million, of which more than 90% was goods and services exported by Vietnam to Bangladesh.
As the COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh developed positively and production and business activities in the country were largely restored under the “new normal,” nearly 10 Vietnamese enterprises operating in fields with significant potential in Bangladesh – such as construction materials, agricultural product import-export, household electrical appliances, and transport services – recently traveled to the country to promote their market presence, seek partners, and strengthen and expand their existing business relationships.
To promote economic and trade relations and create conditions for Vietnamese and Bangladeshi enterprises to connect, exchange, and receive support in resolving difficulties, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh coordinated with the Bangladesh-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organize business-connection meetings between the two countries in Bangladesh’s two leading economic centers – the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong – on November 7 and November 11, respectively.
Each meeting attracted a large number of Bangladeshi enterprises registering to attend, even though the scale of the event was limited to about 100 people in line with the host country’s pandemic prevention regulations. In addition to enterprises that already had business relations with Vietnam, many Bangladeshi enterprises registered to attend hoping to learn about the market and find partners to establish relations and trade with Vietnam.
At the meetings, the heads of Bangladesh’s chambers of commerce announced government policies encouraging and inviting investment into 100 economic and export-processing zones being established nationwide under the Government of Bangladesh’s plan, with many incentives. The sectors Bangladesh prioritizes for attracting investment include information technology, telecommunications, agricultural product and seafood processing, export-oriented garment manufacturing, and tourism infrastructure… The chairmen of Bangladesh’s chambers of commerce noted that the country is currently undertaking strong reforms and simplifying procedures to facilitate business and foreign investment.
During the discussions, many Bangladeshi and Vietnamese enterprises affirmed that the two countries had not yet fully tapped the great economic cooperation potential between them, saying more meetings like this were needed to increase the exchange of business delegations between the two countries. They also proposed early connection of direct flights between Vietnam and Bangladesh to facilitate business travel and boost tourism. Most Bangladeshi enterprises expressed interest in and a desire to cooperate with Vietnam in the fields of garments & textiles, agricultural and aquatic products, processed food, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.
Following the promotion events, along with other individual activities of each enterprise, a number of Vietnamese enterprises said they had found potential partners and agreed to continue holding specific cooperation discussions. In addition, the Vietnamese enterprises also introduced the Liaison Group of Vietnamese Enterprises Doing Business with Bangladesh. The Liaison Group was recently established by nearly twenty Vietnamese enterprises doing business with Bangladesh, aiming to exchange information, share market experience, support one another in business activities with Bangladesh, and work step by step toward establishing a Society once conditions allow.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic developed in complex ways in both Vietnam and Bangladesh over the past nearly two years, the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic and trade fields, not only remained stable but also developed strongly in 2021. As of the end of September 2021, according to preliminary data from Vietnam’s General Department of Customs, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Bangladesh reached USD 981 million, of which more than 90% was goods and services exported by Vietnam to Bangladesh, up nearly 80% year-on-year. With this growth momentum, two-way trade is expected to exceed the USD 1 billion mark for the first time in 2021.