Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Nguyen Manh Cuong (Photo: VNA)

A delegation from the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh and a group of Vietnamese businesses led by Ambassador Nguyen Manh Cuong visited and worked with government agencies and business partners in Sylhet city, Moulvibazar province, and Habiganj province.

At the meeting between the Vietnamese delegation and head of the Sylhet city administration office Muhammad Sher Mahbub Murad, both sides agreed to promote cultural exchanges, tourism, and business connection, thereby enhancing mutual understanding and bringing the two countries' people closer together.

The host noted that Sylhet is currently one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, with strengths in tourism, agricultural production, and natural gas extraction. However, due to climate change and environmental pollution, it faces extreme weather patterns such as floods, heatwaves, and fog. The local government is actively researching international experience, particularly Vietnam's, in responding to and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. Additionally, he said he hopes to gain insights from Vietnam on developing high-tech and sustainable agriculture to ensure domestic food security and serve exports.

For his part, Ambassador Cuong expressed his confidence that Sylhet will soon become a major economic hub of Bangladesh, successfully developing into a smart tourism city in the future.

Emphasising that Vietnam is a coastal country with favourable conditions for agricultural and tourism development, the ambassador suggested both sides explore the potential for connectivity, exchanges, and parnerships between their localities, thereby enhancing collaboration and sharing development experience in various fields, as well as promoting economic, trade, and investment cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

In Moulvibazar province, the Vietnamese delegation visited the tea and agricultural production factory of Paragon Group, one of the oldest food companies in Bangladesh. Some Vietnamese businesses had the opportunity to meet with the group's leaders. They are seeking trade cooperation opportunities, particularly exporting Vietnam’s frozen food and key agricultural products to the Bangladeshi market.

In Habiganj province, the delegation met with the leaders of the multi-sector manufacturing industrial zone belonging to PRAN-RFL Group, one of the largest manufacturers and exporters in Bangladesh. During the meeting, Vietnamese businesses discussed with group leaders about their strengths and cooperation opportunities in areas such as food imports and exports, preservation and packaging technology, and production technology transfer.

On this occasion, the embassy coordinated with the Bangladesh-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BVCCI) to organise a seminar on the current business, trade, and investment environment in Bangladesh and potential for collaboration between Vietnamese and Bangladeshi businesses./.