H.E. Mr. Nguyen Tien Phong, Ambassador of Vietnam said that Pakistan has plenty of natural resources with good prospects for better economic growth and Vietnam wanted to further boost bilateral trade ties with it. He said that Vietnam and Pakistan have great potential to complement each other’s economy by developing close economic cooperation. He said that Pakistan was producing some good quality products including pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, onyx and it has great scope to enhance its exports to Vietnam as our country welcomed competitive products in its market. He said that Vietnam’s annual imports were around USD 300 billion and Pakistani entrepreneurs should make strong efforts to get better market share in the Vietnamese market. He expressed these views while interacting with the business community during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
The Envoy said that Vietnam and Pakistan were discussing a preferential trade agreement that would help improve bilateral trade volume between the two countries. He said that Vietnam could export hybrid vehicles to Pakistan and added that both countries should sign an investment agreement to attract investors of each other country. He said that Vietnam was a member of ASEAN and close cooperation with Vietnam would help Pakistan to get easy access to ASEAN market. He assured that the Vietnam embassy would facilitate the Pakistani business community in developing business linkages with Vietnamese counterparts.
Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) said that Pak-Vietnam bilateral trade was around USD half a billion with trade balance heavily in favor of Vietnam. He said that Pakistan was exporting many products around the world including marbles & granite, textiles, rice, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, sports goods, leather products, seafood and desired that Vietnam should consider importing more products from Pakistan for the benefit of its customers. He said that both countries could promote trade in many other products including phone and phone’s parts, computer & computer’s parts, electrical & electronics and technology equipment, rubber, steel sector and various chemicals. He said that ICCI would like to sign an MoU with Vietnam chamber of commerce & industry to promote business linkages between the private sectors of both countries.
Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President ICCI said that many international companies were doing successful business in Pakistan and stressed that the investors should come to Pakistan to explore JVs and investment.
Faheem Khan, Vice President ICCI said that both countries should encourage frequent exchange of trade delegations to explore new areas of promoting bilateral business and investment relations.
Fatma Azim, Hamayun Kabir, Sheikh Ejaz, Muhammad Shabbir, Hafiz Bilal Munir, Raja Imtiaz, Khalid Mahmood, Mrs. Parveen Khan, Nasira Ali, Akhtar Hussain and Ch. Muhammad Ali also spoke at the occasion and presented many useful suggestions to improve Pak-Vietnam bilateral trade.