Special brothers target at $2bln bilateral trade

September 21, 2015 | 09:03
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Vietnam and Laos have devised a series of solutions to expand co-operation between the two countries in trade and investment.


Prime Minister Dung and his Laotian counterpart share their views on all key investment projects
-Photo: VNA

The solutions were tabled during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s working visit to Laos from September 13-14 where he held bilateral talks with his Laotian counterpart Thongsing Thammavong and paid a courtesy call to Laotian General Secretary and State President Choummaly Sayasone, and met with Laotian National Assembly Chairman Pany Yathotu.

Besides consenting to a $2 billion bilateral trade target this year, which will represent a 40 per cent rise on-year, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of an agreement on the trade and exchange of goods and services along the border between the two countries. A memorandum of understanding on a transport co-operation strategy for 2016-2015, with a vision to 2030, was also signed.

“The agreements are an important measure to boost the two nations’ economic connectivity,” said Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung. “The leaders of both sides have also agreed to review and revise mechanisms and policies to further facilitate the two nations’ trade and investment co-operation.”

He also said the two governments had committed to further cement energy co-operation, and power production and consumption, while raising the disbursement of Vietnam’s investments in Laos and boosting new projects.

During the visit, Dung attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Vietnam’s biggest Laos-based investment project, which exploits and processes potassium salt. The $522.46 million plant will use potassium salt as the raw material for the production of potassium fertiliser.

Invested in by the Vietnam National Chemical Group, this is a key project of Vietnam’s chemical industry, with an annual output capacity of 320,000 tonnes of potassium fertiliser which will be raised to one million tonnes per year by 2020. The products will be used in both Laos and Vietnam, helping reduce their need to wholly import this type of fertiliser.

Dung said that not only benefiting the two nations economically, this project also demonstrated the fact that Vietnam’s Party, State, and people attached great importance to cementing their special ties of co-operation and friendship with Laos. The project was also aimed at actively contributing towards Laos’ socio-economic development.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam stood ready to comprehensively co-operate with Laos in their strategic project to construct a depot and an oil-conducting pipe at Hon La port in Quang Binh province, which is connected with Laos’ Khammuon province. Licensed in February 2015, this project is being funded by the Laos Petro Joint Stock Company.

Vietnamese investors have funnelled more than $5 billion into Laos to date, with 413 valid investment projects, many of which are in the agriculture and mining sectors. These investments have resulted in jobs for over 30,000 workers. In late May this year, Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group inaugurated the $36 million Attapeu International Airport in Laos’ southernmost province of Attapeu. The airport was invested in through the build-transfer model, and has a time-line from May 2013 to May 2015.

Regarding international and regional issues of mutual concern, the two sides agreed to consolidate their bilateral co-operation and their co-operation with other ASEAN member states in the region’s strategically important issues, including the East Sea issue. Dung also affirmed that Vietnam fully supports Laos in successfully acting as the ASEAN chair in 2016.

By By Khoi Nguyen

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