Vietnam's coastal localities and India’s Kerala state have many opportunities to expand cooperation in seafood-related business, investment and production, a fishery official of Kerala said at a recent online conference – part of trade promotion activities on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

The event was jointly held on June 22 by the Trade Office under the Vietnamese Embassy in India, the host country’s Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and Kerala authorities.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau expressed his belief that through the conference, both sides’ businesses can understand more about each other’s market, and find suitable partners.

Van Duc Phu, deputy head of Investment Promotion Division under the Foreign Investment Agency’s Northern Investment Promotion Centre, stated that many Vietnamese localities such as Hung Yen, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Can Tho and Binh Duong have shown their interest in cooperating with Kerala state.

Anil Kumar, Joint Director (Marketing), MPEDA, said that Indian enterprises have a demand of importing raw materials for processing and export, and are investing in building infrastructure with modern equipment to increase product values.

India can import raw materials, that it cannot produce or produce at a higher cost, from Vietnam, he added.

He also noted that Vietnamese businesses should not connect with Indian partners through intermediaries, but should seek information about them through reputable channels such as MPEDA and the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India (SEAI).

Bui Trung Thuong, Counselor, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in India, said that he will soon coordinate with MPEDA, SEAI and related agencies to organise a B2B promotion programme to help the two countries’ seafood businesses meet and discuss import and export activities, investment cooperation, construction of processing plants./.