Vietnam, Colombia ink MoU on trade, investment, industrial cooperation

Participants at the first meeting of the Vietnam - Colombia Joint Economic Committee

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai and Colombian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Soraya Caro Vargas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on trade, investment, and industrial cooperation, and co-chaired the first meeting of the Joint Economic Committee of the two countries on September 27 in Bogota.

The signing of the MoU marks the first time the two countries have established a mechanism of joint economic commission, thus creating an official and comprehensive channel for periodic dialogue, reviewing cooperation, addressing issues, and discussing measures to promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation.

Speaking at the meeting, Hai spoke highly of development in bilateral trade relations, emphasising that Vietnam considers Colombia an important partner in the Latin American region and is ready to collaborate with the country to implement measures towards boosting trade, economic recovery, and global supply chain connectivity.

For her part, Vargas expressed her satisfaction with the positive developments in Vietnam - Colombia trade relations in recent years, especially in the context that the two sides have been cooperating and supporting each other in international organisations, multilateral forums, and regional cooperation mechanisms.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai (L) and Colombian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Soraya Caro Vargas (Photo: VNA)

The positive growth of two-way trade turnover is clear evidence that bilateral trade relations are increasingly strengthened, she said.

The two officials, however, acknowledged that the economic, trade, and investment relations between the two countries, in terms of scale, have not yet fully matched the potential and that the Vietnamese and Colombian business communities still face several challenges in business cooperation.

Both sides agreed on the need to promote bilateral economic relations as well as cooperation within multilateral frameworks.

According to the two ministers, Vietnam and Colombia are dynamic economies in the world, possessing strengths that can complement each other. Both sides have the potential to contribute to addressing challenges related to food and energy security, and participating in supply chains that are being strongly restructured globally.

As an active member of the Pacific Alliance, Colombia will serve as a bridge for Vietnamese goods to penetrate the Latin American market. Meanwhile, Vietnam opens doors for Colombian products to enter the ASEAN market and the Asia-Pacific region.

To realise the goal of lifting two-way trade to 1 billion USD in the next three years, the two sides have agreed to continue discussing specific plans to promote the export of strong products of the two sides to their respective markets.

The MoU and the establishment of the Vietnam – Colombia Joint Economic Committee are a significant step in bilateral economic cooperation, demonstrating the commitment and determination of both sides to promote the bilateral cooperation in a substantive and comprehensive manner in all areas, especially in economics trade, and investment.

At the end of the Joint Economic Committee's meeting, the two deputy ministers signed a minutes of the first session.

On the occasion, Hai had a working session with Minister of Labour Gloria Ines Ramirez, during which the Colombian official expressed her desire to strengthen the relationship between the two governments and people, affirming that Vietnam is one of important partners of Colombia.

Hai suggested the two countries increase the exchange of delegations at all levels and experts to explore the demand and potential for cooperation in specific areas.

Within the framework of the visit, Hai chaired a Vietnam–Colombia business forum, which helped connect enterprises of the two nations.

Colombia is one of Vietnam's top important partners in the Latin American region, with two-way trade maintaining high growth even during challenging market conditions, hitting 742 million USD in 2022, up 11.4% year-on-year./.