At the meeting (Photo: Ministry of Industry and Trade)

Gogulescu highlighted the chamber's long-term collaboration with Vietnam, dating back to 2001, particularly in the oil and gas sector, and education-training.

They acknowledged positive developments in the bilateral trade on the basis of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). However, they said, the outcomes have yet to match the potential of both sides.

The two sides agreed to step up cooperation in the areas where they have strengths, such as automobile manufacturing, education-training in the oil and gas sector, high-tech agriculture, and IT.

Vietnam and Romania planned to organise the 18th meeting of their Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation in Romania in 2025 as part of activities celebrating the 75th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations.

Trade between the two countries grew by 37.5% in the first eight months of 2024 to over 350 million USD, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

From 2019 to 2023, the bilateral trade rose more than 1.65-fold, but it represented only 0.06% of Vietnam’s total trade and 0.2% of Romania’s.