Pak-Vietnam: Nations discuss investment potential

HANOI:

Pakistani enterprises Thursday hoped to further promote trade and investment relations with their Vietnamese counterparts during a conference in Hanoi.

“There is huge potential for Vietnamese and Pakistani enterprises to accelerate cooperation,” Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shahzad Malik said, the Vietnam News Service reported.

According to him, sectors like chemicals, agriculture, garment, construction and paper, offer promise for more bilateral coordination between these two business communities.

Pakistan Ambassador Shahid M G Kiani called on more Vietnamese companies to come to Pakistan to seek business opportunities.

To date, eight Pakistani business delegations travelled to Vietnam to explore markets, and only one Vietnamese delegation had gone to Pakistan.

Two-way trade between the nations grew significantly, reaching $183 million in 2009 and over $61 million in the first quarter of this year.

Of three-month sum, $32.5 million came from Vietnamese exports, up 92.3 per cent year-on-year.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2011.