Vietnamese envoy for facilitating businesses

LCCI VP says meagre trade volume of 0.12% should be increased to $2 billion

LAHORE:

Ambassador of Vietnam Nguyen Tien Phong, on Monday, said businesses need be facilitated in both countries to increase the volume of trade.

“Vietnam and Pakistan last year celebrated 50 years of relations. Pakistan has always supported Vietnam in all the international forums. We should go ahead with our relations by boosting our economic ties,” said the envoy, during his visit to the Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). He added that 90% cotton and 60% yarn is being imported from Lahore.

“Vietnam also exports fisheries, tea, paper, chemicals, ginger and other products to Pakistan which are not more than 0.5% of our total exports,” he said.

Similarly, Vietnam imports pharmaceuticals, cotton, leather products “the volume of which is also very low,” he said, adding that the Vietnamese businesspersons can help find potential partners for Pakistani businessmen.

“The LCCI should set up a delegation to Vietnam to meet with counterparts and we can also arrange meetings with ministers and high-ups in Vietnam. We have seen that Pakistan is facing difficulties and containers are stuck at ports, but we have a solution as we can develop a mechanism of barter trade between the two sides.”

LCCI Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry agreed, saying that he will personally lead a delegation of businessmen to Vietnam to explore trade and investment opportunities.

“Despite starting as one of the weaker economies in the mid 1970s and 1980s, Vietnam emerged against all the odds. Following the path of rapid economic growth, Vietnam showed impressive progress in industrial, agricultural and services sectors. That was the result of a broad-based economic transformation which dismantled the largely planned economy, while opening a closed economy to international markets,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2023.

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