Vietnam, Laos eye 2 billion USD in two-way trade

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam and Laos expect to achieve 2 billion USD in two-way trade in the near future, given that the figure surged 28.2% annually to 1.4 billion USD in ten months of this year, heard a forum held in Vientiane on November 25.

Speaking at the event, Somvixay Vongthilath, Deputy Director of Trade Promotion Department under the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC), said the event offers a chance to listen to concerns of businesses and review the efficiency of existing cooperation frameworks to fine-tune policies, mechanisms and laws, thus helping firms improve their production and export capacity, even export to the third country.

Deputy head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets Do Quoc Hung said Laos now ranks first among 78 countries and territories invested by Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the third biggest investor in Laos, mostly in agriculture, banking, finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and processing.

Reports at the event focused on trade achievements between the two countries, bilateral cooperation in market management and energy development.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese Business Association in Laos Nguyen Xuan Ha suggested the MIC issue policies to protect domestically-made goods and importers of goods via official channels.

He also urged the two governments and the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport to soon upgrade the Lao section of road linking Vietnam and Laos and build the Hanoi-Vientiane expressway to save time and cost of trade between the two nations.

Participants at the event debated ways to pool more resources and corporate involvement in trade infrastructure, retail distribution and processing industry to achieve the set target of 2 billion USD soon./.