UNB, Dhaka :
The bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Bangladesh is excellent and both countries are looking at the same future of mutual cooperation and development, says Ambassador Pham Viet Chien.
“I see a huge potential of cooperation between the two countries in the economic field … I’d like to improve and strengthen the economic relationship and people to people tie,” he said in a recent interview with UNB.
Apart from bilateral ties, political relations are good between the two governments and the ruling parties, he noted.
“Vietnam and Bangladesh share the same vision of development,” he said, adding that Vietnam targets becoming a developed country by 2045 and Bangladesh has vision 2041 to become a developed nation by then. “We share the vision and are looking at the same future,” the Ambassador said.
Bangladesh-Vietnam bilateral trade relations are still small but are growing in a positive direction. Vietnamese exports to Bangladesh mainly consist of items such as fabric, plastic products, rattan products, bamboo products, seagrass rugs, rubber, computers, electronic products, wooden products, ceramic, and porcelain, according to the website of Vietnamese Embassy.
Bangladesh’s exports to Vietnam, on the other hand, include pharmaceuticals, fabrics, textile raw materials, leather, fibre types, machinery, appliances and parts, electronic components, and fertiliser.
“It’s one of my most important tasks to encourage Vietnamese businesses to come to Bangladesh to do business here. And, on the other hand, I would like to invite Bangladeshi businesses to come to Vietnam to find opportunities of business and profit there,” Ambassador Viet Chien said.
In December 2019, the two countries held the second meeting of the Joint Trade Committee where they discussed ways to double the bilateral trade volume from around $1 billion to $2 billion by 2021.
Bangladesh and Vietnam also discussed trade and investment issues and identified 11 priority areas, including agricultural trade and pharmaceutical exports from Bangladesh to Vietnam. “I encourage Vietnamese businesses to come here because I see much potential … to do business together,” the Ambassador said.
Ambassador Viet Chien said he sees agriculture as one of the most potential areas of cooperation. “I think there’s much potential to cooperate to develop agriculture and agricultural production,” he said.
Since 2017, Vietnam has remained the number one hub of cashew processing and export in the world, accounting for over 50 percent of processed raw cashews in the world. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam exported over 422,000 tonnes of cashew kernels in the first 10 months of last year, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association.
Bangladesh produced about 1,323 tonnes of cashew in the 2019-20 fiscal, according to the agriculture ministry. But the demand for cashew is estimated to be 50,000 tonnes, which means the country has to rely heavily on imports.
Ambassador Viet Chien said he has received some proposals from Bangladeshi businesses to plant cashew in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.
“I think we can cooperate with each other. We can share ideas, experience and vision of development in this sphere, in this field,” he said.
The ambassador identified manpower as one of the key areas of cooperation. He noted that in terms of manpower, Vietnam and Bangladesh are the same. “The country is open and so is the market. We need markets to send Vietnamese people to work abroad and Bangladesh also [needs manpower markets],” he said.
The bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Bangladesh is excellent and both countries are looking at the same future of mutual cooperation and development, says Ambassador Pham Viet Chien.
“I see a huge potential of cooperation between the two countries in the economic field … I’d like to improve and strengthen the economic relationship and people to people tie,” he said in a recent interview with UNB.
Apart from bilateral ties, political relations are good between the two governments and the ruling parties, he noted.
“Vietnam and Bangladesh share the same vision of development,” he said, adding that Vietnam targets becoming a developed country by 2045 and Bangladesh has vision 2041 to become a developed nation by then. “We share the vision and are looking at the same future,” the Ambassador said.
Bangladesh-Vietnam bilateral trade relations are still small but are growing in a positive direction. Vietnamese exports to Bangladesh mainly consist of items such as fabric, plastic products, rattan products, bamboo products, seagrass rugs, rubber, computers, electronic products, wooden products, ceramic, and porcelain, according to the website of Vietnamese Embassy.
Bangladesh’s exports to Vietnam, on the other hand, include pharmaceuticals, fabrics, textile raw materials, leather, fibre types, machinery, appliances and parts, electronic components, and fertiliser.
“It’s one of my most important tasks to encourage Vietnamese businesses to come to Bangladesh to do business here. And, on the other hand, I would like to invite Bangladeshi businesses to come to Vietnam to find opportunities of business and profit there,” Ambassador Viet Chien said.
In December 2019, the two countries held the second meeting of the Joint Trade Committee where they discussed ways to double the bilateral trade volume from around $1 billion to $2 billion by 2021.
Bangladesh and Vietnam also discussed trade and investment issues and identified 11 priority areas, including agricultural trade and pharmaceutical exports from Bangladesh to Vietnam. “I encourage Vietnamese businesses to come here because I see much potential … to do business together,” the Ambassador said.
Ambassador Viet Chien said he sees agriculture as one of the most potential areas of cooperation. “I think there’s much potential to cooperate to develop agriculture and agricultural production,” he said.
Since 2017, Vietnam has remained the number one hub of cashew processing and export in the world, accounting for over 50 percent of processed raw cashews in the world. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam exported over 422,000 tonnes of cashew kernels in the first 10 months of last year, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association.
Bangladesh produced about 1,323 tonnes of cashew in the 2019-20 fiscal, according to the agriculture ministry. But the demand for cashew is estimated to be 50,000 tonnes, which means the country has to rely heavily on imports.
Ambassador Viet Chien said he has received some proposals from Bangladeshi businesses to plant cashew in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.
“I think we can cooperate with each other. We can share ideas, experience and vision of development in this sphere, in this field,” he said.
The ambassador identified manpower as one of the key areas of cooperation. He noted that in terms of manpower, Vietnam and Bangladesh are the same. “The country is open and so is the market. We need markets to send Vietnamese people to work abroad and Bangladesh also [needs manpower markets],” he said.
