Attendees at the event included member of the Bangladeshi Parliament Alhaj Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizvandary, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Abdul Matlub Ahmad, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Tran Van Khoa, and nearly 100 representatives from the two nations’ enterprises.
Addressing the workshop, Ambassador Khoa called on Vietnamese and Bangladeshi enterprises to take full advantages of trade and economic cooperation potential in a bid to raise the two-way trade value to USD 1 billion set by the two nations’ leaders in 2015.
The diplomat also briefed participants on Vietnam’s situation as well as opportunities to invest in the country and its orientations for foreign investment attraction.
Local firms expressed their hope that Vietnamese enterprises would increase the import of pharmaceuticals, non-oil rice bran, jute, shrimps and leather products from Bangladesh, saying that most of Vietnamese businesses have bought these products from India and China at higher prices.
On this occasion, a delegation of Vietnamese businesses operating in various fields such as advertisement designing, information and communications technology, finance-banking and fertilizer production paid a fact-finding tour and worked with Bangladeshi partners.
Vietnamese firms highly evaluated the Bangladeshi market’s potential, saying that they have worked with a US market research company to promptly explore the market.
On the sidelines of the workshop, the Bangladesh-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BVCCI) made its debut.
FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad said the launching of the BVCCI was an important event for Bangladeshi and Vietnamese businesses as it would serve as a bridge supporting them in penetrating in each other’s markets.
Ambassador Khoa said BVCCI is the first organization run by Bangladesh firms to promote trade ties with Vietnam, pledging that the embassy would support BVCCI’s operation, thus contributing to the enhancement of the traditional friendship between the two countries.
Source: VNA