The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) held a workshop here on Friday on trade co-operation between the two countries, with the hope to provide opportunities for businesses of both sides to exchange information and expand their business co-operation.
Bilateral co-operation between Vietnam and Pakistan has finely developed over the past years, with two-way trade turnover reaching 222.7 million dollars in 2010 from over 80 million dollars in 2005. In the first four months of 2011, it hit nearly 90 million dollars, VCCI Vice President Doan Duy Khuong addressed the participants of the workshop.
The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1972 and have signed agreements and memorandums of understanding in various areas, including diplomacy, trade, finance and banking, sciences and technologies and aquatic culture. Those documents are important legal framework that helps boost bilateral trade co-operation, Khuong said.
Pakistan's Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood praised Vietnam's economic development in recent years, saying that it impressed many countries in the world, including Pakistan. Currently, Pakistan exports materials to Vietnam's textile, leather and aquatic culture sectors, which help the country to make high quality products to export other major markets, including the EU.