Hundreds of enterprises of Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) gathered at a trade and investment forum in Ho Chi Minh City on October 17.

At the forum

Jointly organised by the Trade Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the event aimed to promote sustainable trade and investment cooperation and create opportunities for building business partnership between the two countries.

Director of the Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu said two-way trade between Vietnam and UAE hit 4.26 billion USD in the first nine months of 2019, with Vietnam’s exports to UAE reaching nearly 4 billion USD, up 2.23 percent compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam has become the largest trading partner of the UAE in Southeast Asia and the UAE is also the largest partner of Vietnam in the Middle East. Vietnam is calling on UAE businesses to invest in areas of logistics infrastructure, oil and gas, renewable energy, and supporting industries.

Deputy Director of VCCI office in HCM City Tran Ngoc Liem said trade between the two countries has grown fast but in an unsustainable manner. He said Vietnam wants the UAE to become a major partner of Vietnam in the Middle East, helping Vietnamese goods to reach other markets in the Middle East, Africa and the world.

Vietnam in general and HCM City in particular want UAE enterprises to pour more capital into Vietnam through channels such as the stock market, thus helping Vietnamese firms expand and promote sustainable trade and investment links.

According to UAE Deputy Economic Minister Abdullah Al Saleh, his country has great strengths in infrastructure, technology and logistics services, along with many incentive policies for FDI enterprises. It also serves as a transit point for cargo transport to many areas around the world.

The development of Vietnam's transport infrastructure such as seaports and airports will help strengthen trade ties between the two sides, he said.

According to the General Department of Customs, currently the UAE is the 10th largest market of Vietnamese goods with over 60 commodity groups, including household electronics, footwear, textiles, and agricultural products.

Vietnam imports liquefied gas, material plastic, animal feed materials and many consumer products from the UAE.