The recently approved EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) could act as a means of boosting trading ties between Poland and Vietnam, according to the International Business Times.

Piotr Harasimowicz, chief representative officer of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency based in Ho Chi Minh City, was quoted by the news organisation as saying that Vietnam represents one of the most promising markets for Polish companies in Southeast Asia. 

According to Mr. Harasimowicz, both countries enjoy a range of crucial fields that are ripe for co-operation, including agricultural food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, green technology, and wastewater treatment.

He emphasised that there remains plenty of room for co-operation in areas such as software, information technology, heavy industries, machinery along with equipment for agricultural production and food processing.

Vietnam’s major exports are currently electronics and equipment, footwear, textile products, along with agricultural products such as coffee, pepper, coconut, and cashew nuts.

Bilateral trade between the two countries surpassed US$3 billion during 2019, while Poland is now home to a large Vietnamese community, which serves as a bridge to connect both nations with geographical distance from each other.

According to statistics, the Vietnamese community residing in Poland is second only to the Vietnamese community in Ukraine, Germany, and Belarus, with 11,718 people holders of permanent residence permits.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Poland estimates that between 20,000 and 30,000 Vietnamese people now live in the European nation, while the Polish Government believes the exact figure is closer to 50,000, with Vietnamese people in Warsaw owning at least 500 restaurants.