Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Binh Doan Ngoc Lam speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Jointly hosted by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the event is part of a project of the National Programme on Trade Promotion in 2023 approved by the ministry. It saw the participation of over 230 delegates from the ministry, the Vietnamese Consulate Generals in Savannakhet of Laos, and Thailand's Khon Kaen; and businesses of the three nations.

In his opening remarks, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Pham Quang Hai said the conference aims to create opportunities for exchange, cooperation, market expansion, and trade connectivity to promote the export of goods between Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh, Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces of Vietnam and enterprises and distributors from Laos and Thailand.

It is hoped to contribute to enhancing competitiveness and promoting business and production activities of enterprises, and fully tapping opportunities and benefits of new-generation multilateral and bilateral trade agreements signed between Vietnam and Laos, and Thailand, Hai said.

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Binh Doan Ngoc Lam briefed participants on the locality’s potential and strengths, saying that this offers a chance for businesses in and outside the locality to seek partners and expand market, towards boosting export activities between the three countries.

According to Chu Duc Dung, Consul General of Vietnam in Khon Kaen, two-way trade between Vietnam and Thailand reached 21.56 billion USD in 2022. Thailand remains the largest trading partner of Vietnam in ASEAN, while Vietnam is the second-largest trade partner of Thailand in the region and the sixth-largest in the world.

Thailand has so far had 677 investment projects worth 13.09 billion USD in Vietnam, ranking 9th among the largest foreign investors in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese and Thai states need to have incentive policies to facilitate good exchange, thus boosting export between the two countries, Dung said.

On the occasion, 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between businesses in the north-central provinces of Vietnam and those from Laos and Thailand were signed.