Vietnam and Egypt are working together to boost bilateral trade in the hope of soon lifting the trade turnover to 1 billion USD, Ambassador Nguyen Huy Dung told a business forum held in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on June 16.

Themed “Potential for economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt”, the forum was co-organised by the Embassy of Vietnam in Egypt in collaboration of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. It provided a platform for enterprises from both sides to share information, explore the market of each other, and seek partnership.

Speaking at the event, Dung highly spoke of the multifaceted relations between the two countries which saw good progress over the last several years.

Vietnam and Egypt have huge potential for stronger cooperation in various areas, such as electrical industry, textile-garment, logistics, agriculture, fishery, tourism, seaport management, marine economy, wooden furniture and gas production. But the two-way trade has failed to match such potential, he said.

The diplomat noted that the two countries are coordinating to effectively implement bilateral agreements so as to accelerate bilateral trade.

President of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Ahmed El Wakil, for his part, highlighted the close friendship between Vietnam and Egypt, saying that the two sides must strengthen partnership in addressing regional and global issues, particularly in the fields of trade and economy.

Given global uncertainties caused by impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the two nations should make joint efforts in removing barriers to trade and enhancing the bilateral economic cooperation in a more effective and practical manner, he stated.

Both officials agreed that the two countries need to increase information exchange between their enterprises through business forums, trade-investment promotion workshops and trade expos, adding that regular contacts should also be maintained between the Embassy of Vietnam in Egypt and the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.

During the event, many participating Egyptian companies showed interest in various Vietnamese products, mostly those of the agriculture, fishery and comesceutical industries./.