Vietnam and Ukraine on January 25 discussed measures to remove hurdles and facilitate bilateral trade cooperation at the 15th session of the Intergovernmental commission for economic - trade and scientific - technological cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnam and Ukraine ink an MoU on stock exchange cooperation during the 15th session
of the inter-governmental commission for economic, trade and sci-tech cooperation
on January 25. (Photo: VNA)

During the virtually held session, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An noted despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the import-export turnover between the two countries in 2020 increased considerably compared to 2019.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show bilateral trade last year hit US$478.33 million, an increase of 29.48% from the previous year. Of the total, Vietnamese exports to Ukraine brought back US$284.8 million, up 15.04%, while imports from Ukraine rose 58.81% to US$193.5 million.

An, who co-chaired the session, suggested that both sides work closely together to create a favourable legal framework for key Vietnamese farm products such as seafood, meat, and fresh fruits to access the Ukrainian market more easily, and similarly for key Ukrainian goods such as cereals, meat and milk to enter the Vietnamese market.

Regarding investment, by September 2020 Ukraine had 27 operational investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of about US$30.1 million, ranking 67th among 138 foreign investors in the country. The projects were mainly focused on the fields of transportation and warehouse, processing and manufacturing industries, and science & technology.

Meanwhile, Vietnam had six investment projects in Ukraine capitalized at nearly US$4 million. Major investment areas are food processing, packaging and food catering services.

For his part, Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Taras Kachka, proposed that both sides enter into a free trade agreement (FTA) to enable their businesses to enjoy tax preferences in their import-export activities.

Ukraine and Vietnam should soon complete a feasibility study of a free trade agreement (FTA) based on a joint study done in 2014, he said.

According to Taras Kachka, in its foreign policy orientations in 2021 Ukraine plans to promote cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region and hopes to accelerate FTA negotiations with China, Indonesia and Vietnam, which is considered to be a gateway to Southeast Asia.

During the session, both sides also examined the potential for bilateral cooperation in other fields such as diplomacy, finance, industry, agriculture, science – technology, especially space science, environmental resources and health.

Deputy Ministers Dang Hoang An and Taras Kachka signed the minutes of the session and witnessed the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding on stock exchange and space research cooperation between the two countries’ agencies.