The 2nd session of the Vietnam – Bangladesh Joint Trade Sub-Committee, co-chaired by Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung and Bangladesh’s Deputy Minister of Commerce Md. Jafar Uddin, was held on 26-27 December 2019 in Hanoi to help promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
The Vietnamese delegation attending the session included representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Asia-Africa Market Department and other units under the Ministry), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Bangladeshi side included representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
The session took place in an atmosphere of friendship, with open, candid and constructive discussion to address issues of mutual concern to both sides.
At the session, the two sides discussed concrete measures to remove difficulties and obstacles facing trade, investment and business cooperation activities, and to create a more favorable environment for enterprises to operate. The two sides exchanged orientations and solutions to build closer ties between the two economies, help expand markets for each other’s export products, and make the most of each country’s strengths and resources to support their respective development needs.
Specific measures the two sides agreed to encourage include: reviewing and fully implementing agreements currently in effect to support trade development; promoting trade and investment promotion measures, diversifying export and import products, and encouraging and supporting enterprises from each side to take part in trade fairs/exhibitions in the two countries; organizing purchasing/survey/market research delegations and encouraging investment and business cooperation in fields of mutual interest such as pharmaceuticals, garments and textiles, information and communications technology (ICT), and agriculture. The two sides discussed difficulties in promoting exports to each other’s markets, including Bangladesh’s potatoes and pharmaceutical products, and Vietnam’s rice and halal products; exchanged information on each side’s strength industries, such as Bangladesh’s jute sector and Vietnam’s cashew nut sector, and agreed to facilitate B2B activities. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in other areas such as tourism, promoting direct flights, halal certification, banking cooperation, and visa facilitation, in order to support the development of trade and tourism.
The session concluded successfully, once again affirming the importance of the Vietnam – Bangladesh Joint Trade Sub-Committee mechanism in strengthening trade relations between the two countries, especially given a world and regional trade environment facing many difficulties and uncertainties amid rising protectionism and trade tensions among major economies.
According to Vietnam Customs statistics, Vietnam – Bangladesh trade turnover reached USD 810 million in 2018, of which export turnover reached USD 753 million, down 13%, and import turnover reached USD 57 million, up 42% compared with 2017. In the first 11 months of 2019, bilateral trade value reached USD 711.9 million, down 5.4% year-on-year. Bangladesh is currently Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner in South Asia.