Vietnam and Ukraine have more room to increase their trade exchanges to US$1 billion in the next three years. 

Vietnam and Ukraine sign the minutes of the 14th session
of the Intergovernmental Committee on economic-trade and
scientific-technological cooperation in 2014. (Illustrative image)

The agreement was reached during a working session on December 28 between Vietnamese ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach and Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Taras Kachka.

Ambassador Thach noted despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade exchanges between Ukraine and Vietnam in the first three quarters of 2020 increased by more than 12% compared to the same period last year to US$300 million. However, he said the two countries still have a lot of untapped potential for cooperation, especially in the field of science and technology.

With Ukraine’s foreign policy focused on promoting economic diplomacy and expanding cooperation in to the Asian region, the ambassador expressed his belief that trade and economic cooperation will be of paramount importance in bilateral relations at present.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine is ready to help connect and remove barriers in order to promote trade exchanges between the two countries, Thach assured his host.

Deputy Minister Taras Kachka said Ukraine has advantages in science and technology with high efficiency and cheaper prices than many other countries. In addition, the Ukrainian Government has just established the Ministry of Strategic Industries to promote the development of industries of Ukraine’s strategic importance.

This creates favourable conditions for Ukraine and Vietnam to expand cooperation in this field, he said, adding Ukraine will soon prioritize dialogues on phytosanitary issues for agricultural products and consider the possibility of negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement with Vietnam.

Both host and guest shared the view that a project to establish the Vietnam House in Kyiv and the Ukraine House in Hanoi should be implemented soon, contributing to strengthening trade and economic ties between the two countries.

They also expressed their optimism about the prospect of bilateral economic-trade cooperation and agreed to work together to increase two-way trade to US$1 billion in the next three years.

Deputy Minister Taras Kachka is Chairman of the Ukraine Sub-committee of the Vietnam-Ukraine Intergovernmental Committee on economic-trade and scientific-technological cooperation.

Vietnam and Ukraine are scheduled to convene the 15th session of their inter-governmental committee in late January 2021.