Vietnam-Israel trade turnover to reach US$ 2 billion in 2015

PANO - Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs Vuong Dinh Hue is on a visit to Israel between June 27th and July 2nd.

On June 28^th, at a working session with Israeli Minister of Economy Arye Deri, Mr. Vuong Dinh Hue stressed that Vietnam has always attached importance to promoting the comprehensive cooperation with Israel, as well as spoke highly of the development of their bilateral relationship over the past time.

Notably, the two-way trade turnover reached US$ 1 billion in 2014. The figure increased by 80 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

The working session

Hue pointed out that Vietnam and Israel have great potential for cooperation, especially in science, agriculture, national defence and security, trade and investment. Thus, he suggested that they should strive to raise their trade turnover to US$ 2 billion this year and higher in the next years and urged Israel to create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s major products, such as tea, coffee, rice, seafood, rubber and handicrafts, to enter its market.

For its part, Vietnam is willing to facilitate Israeli businesses in exporting high-tech and quality products, transferring advanced technologies and boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, he added.

Besides, Hanoi and Jerusalem are to promote their cooperation in the areas where they have potential such as energy, information technology, new materials, foodstuffs, agriculture, vocational training and industrial wastewater treatment.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese official asked Israel to recognize Vietnam as a “full market economy” to soon launch the negotiation on their free trade agreement (FTA).

For his part, Israeli Minister of Economy Arye Deri expressed his pleasure at the development of the bilateral relationship, since their establishment of diplomatic ties on July 12^th 1993, and highly appreciated the important role of the visit to Israel by the Vietnamese guests in fostering their economic, trade and investment cooperation in the coming time.

The Israeli minister applauded and agreed with the Vietnamese guest’s recommendations, and pledged to do his utmost to strengthen the two sides’ multi-faceted relations and cooperation. Israel would continue to provide courses on agriculture to Vietnamese trainees and consider receiving Vietnamese workers.

The same day, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs Vuong Dinh Hue paid visits to LR Group and ORCA Group – which are investing in high-tech agricultural projects in Vietnam, and met with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy.