PM attends VN-India Trade & Investment Forum

Viet Nam always welcomes Indian enterprises to do long-term business – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

PM Dung informed around 300 participating businesses from the two countries that Indian multinational conglomerate company Tata Group and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade are finalizing necessary procedures to put the US$ 1.8 billion construction project of Long Phu 2 thermal power plant into operation.

The Indian largest project in Viet Nam shows that Indian enterprises are increasingly interested in the potential market of Viet Nam, said PM Dung.

He proposed the two sides utilize bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to beef up commercial and investment linkages.

The speaker also suggested Viet Nam and India work with each other at regional and international forums like the WTO; establish the ASEAN-India FTA; and negotiate for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

According to Mr. Dung, Viet Nam is joining hands with other member states to build an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 with a population size of 600 million and a GDP scale of US$ 2,500 billion.

Viet Nam, said PM Dung, stands ready to serve as a bridge for Indian investors to penetrate into the ASEAN market.

Besides the eight signed FTAs, Viet Nam is negotiating for six other FTAs with the EU (EVFTA); the European Free Trade Association (EFTA); the the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and

Russia; the Republic of Korea and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement.

The Government chief held that the two economies share numerous similarities and specific advantages which could support and supplement each other. Especially, India would become a good provider of raw materials for Viet Nam in such areas as garments and textiles and manufacturing. On the other hand, India would create more favorable ways to welcome made-in-Viet Nam products like consumption goods, electronic products, and furniture.

PM Dung also called on the Vietnamese and Indian business communities to foster cooperation in advantageous fields including IT, biotechnology, manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum and agro-fishery processing.

The leader also hoped that India's leading groups like TATA, IL&FS, ESSAR, GMR would participate in infrastructure development in Viet Nam.

“Viet Nam also welcomes Indian corporations to partner in spiritual and cultural tourism projects in Viet Nam."

So far, India is one of the ten largest trade partners of Viet Nam.The two-way trade volume touched US$ 5.24 billion in 2013. The two countries set a target to raise the volume to US$ 7 billion in 2015 and US$ 15 billion in 2020. As of September, 2014, India had 84 FDI projects in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of US$ 260 million.