Vietnam and India have potential to ramp up bilateral trade, following their two-way trade in 2022 growing by more than 13 percent from a year earlier, new Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Sandeep Arya has said.

Ambassador Sandeep was speaking to Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee secretary Nguyen Van Nen during his courtesy visit on Thursday, three months after he took office in Vietnam.

While highly appreciating the potential for cooperation between the two countries, the ambassador noted their bilateral trade value reached nearly US$15 billion in 2022, registering a year-on-year rise of 13.6 percent.

Specifically, Vietnam’s exports to India topped $7.9 billion last year, up some 27 percent from 2021, with mobile phones and accessories posting the highest turnover with $1.5 billion, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, Vietnam imported over $7 billion worth of goods from India in the same year, an increase of two percent from a year earlier, with iron, steel, machinery, equipment, and ordinary metals being its major import commodities.

However, the $15-billion two-way trade accounted for only two percent of Vietnam’s total trade turnover with the world in 2022, the diplomat commented.

In his opinion, there is still a lot of room for promoting bilateral trade in such fields as renewable energy, oil and gas, information technology, digital economy, and pharmaceuticals, besides the existing cooperation fields such as tourism, culture, defense, security, and financial technology.

As the world is experiencing changes and challenges, both Vietnam and India have had positive changes reflected in their economic, trade, and investment relations, the ambassador commented.

The diplomat highlighted that the two countries gained gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates of 8.02 and 6.8 percent, respectively, last year, far higher than the global rate of less than three percent.  

Vietnam plays an important role in India’s Indo-Pacific vision as well as its Act East policy, and is also India’s most important trading partner in ASEAN, Sandeep told Nen. 

He also told his host that the two countries are preparing for mutual visits of their senior leaders in 2023, following a range of activities held last year marking 50 years of diplomatic ties.

The city’s Party leader extended thanks to the Indian Embassy in Hanoi and the Indian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City for their efficient cooperation in promoting bilateral cooperation in trade, industry, culture, education, and information technology.

Last year, Vietnam and India celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations, a milestone that has paved the way for more extensive cooperation between the two countries, Nen told his guest.

The local Party chief assured the ambassador that the municipal administration will continue giving favorable conditions for Indian enterprises and investors to do business in the city. 

Nen hoped that the recently-opened Vietnam-India direct flight routes will help the people of the two countries better understand each other.

The new ambassador told his host that he has felt the enthusiasm and friendliness Vietnamese people gave him wherever he came to in Vietnam over the past three months.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!