India, VN target faster, better quality growth
India, VN target faster, better quality growth
India and Viet Nam have huge potential for co-operation in many sectors including textiles, drugs, and information technology, India's top commerce official told a bilateral business forum in HCM City yesterday.
Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher, who is leading a delegation of 50 business executives to Viet Nam to explore business opportunities from January 18 to 22, said while bilateral trade had grown successfully there was always scope for faster and better quality of growth.
The two countries planned to double the current figure of US$8 billion in the next five years.
India had strengths in many areas like textile and garment, pharmaceuticals, leather and footwear, agricultural products, engineering products, information technology and related services and professional services like architecture.
Viet Nam was among the world's leading garment exporters but imported a lot of raw materials for production, while India had strengths in raw cotton, cotton yarn, and other raw materials, and so strengthening co-operation between Indian suppliers and Vietnamese garment manufacturers could benefit both.
India was today recognised as a major drug producer and supplies medicines to many markets, including the US, EU and Japan.
Viet Nam consumed drugs worth around $3 billion a year, but its imports from India were very modest.
Opportunities were also seen in the IT sector and infrastructure.
India and Viet Nam had to come together, complementing each other's capacity both for the purpose of improving bilateral trade and contributing to global economic growth.
Do Huu Huy, deputy director general of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Africa and South West Asia Market Department, said trade ties between the two countries have grown strongly in recent years.
Viet Nam's key exports to India include telephones and accessories, computers, machinery and equipment, tools and parts, pepper, and rubber and it imports seafood, cotton, machinery, drugs, steel, iron, fabric, corn, and others.
Various India groups and corporations such as Tata, Essar, and ONGC have had fruitful co-operation with Vietnamese partners in the fields of oil and gas, energy, chemicals, and steel.
Others like mining, textiles, and automobiles have drawn great attention from Indian investors, he said.
At the forum, officials from Can Tho city and Long An Province spoke about their investment environment and sectors in which they are seeking investment.
Nguyen Thanh Dung, deputy chairman of Can Tho, said the city is looking for investors in the pharmaceutical, agriculture, animal feed, garment and textile, and mechanical engineering sectors.
Nguyen Thanh Nguyen, deputy chairman of Long An, said the province wants investors in supporting industries, agricultural processing and projects with advanced technologies.
It is also seeking co-operation to boost exports of dragon fruit, lemon, peanut, and seafood, he said.
They both promised very favourable conditions for investors.
The forum was followed by a meeting between Indian and Vietnamese businesses to exchange information and discuss further co-operation.
The visiting executives are from the textile (raw cotton, cotton fabric/yarn, synthetic fabric), leather, pharmaceutical, animal feed, agricultural, processed foods, engineering, and banking industries.
